


The Aftermath

by Fmfan1980



Series: The Aftermath of a Mirror Journey [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Drama, F/F, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-06-04
Packaged: 2018-07-12 04:40:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 88
Words: 302,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7085950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fmfan1980/pseuds/Fmfan1980
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based in the alternate reality visited by Captain Willow Rosenberg of SG1 in AEM (Chapter 61 to Chapter 64), this is just the aftermath of the events in that chapter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own the rights, characters, locations or plots from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Stargate SG1; they belong to their respective owners without whom this fanfiction would not have been possible. All reviews are welcome.

**The Summers Residence.**

'And she's gone' thought Willow to herself after her counterpart, an Air Force Captain from an alternate reality, touched the mysterious device and vanished.

She watched as the older man from the other side caught her after she was flung out before she turned back and looked straight into her younger self's eyes and smiled. Willow returned the smile just as the mirror deactivated.

"Well" said Colonel O'Neill, "that's that."

"Sir?" said the Major, "what are we going to do about those three outside?"

"Hammond's sending some MP's to arrest them" said the Colonel.

"Ummm…." said Willow, "what's going to happen to them?"

"You don't need to worry about that, Red" said the Colonel, "for everything they did and tried to do, we'll make sure that they get put into the deepest, darkest hole we can find."

It was at that moment that the white stone in the Colonel's hand started to blink.

"O'Neill" said Eir, "I am prepared to depart and make my report to Commander Thor."

"Thanks for the lift, pal" replied the Colonel, "can you please take this Quantum Mirror with you and dispose of it. We've had enough adventures with it to last lifetimes."

"Very well" said Eir as he activated the transporter system.

"Goodbye" said the Colonel as everyone watched the mirror vanish in a flash of white light. It was then that her turned to Joyce and Willow who were still looking dumbstruck, "I know, it's cool right."

"Yea" said Willow as she looked at the ceiling before bringing her head back down to look at Joyce and then the Colonel, "so that was an alien? I mean the beaming thing was done by an alien?"

"Yes" said Major Carter.

"Jack" said Daniel as he appeared at the door, "the MP's are here."

"I'll be right out" said the Colonel as he nodded at Joyce and Willow, "Mrs. Summers…. Red, we'll be off now to take care of these people. I'll have some MP's stationed here for tonight and someone from the Pentagon will be coming by tomorrow for you to sign some Non Disclosure Forms."

"No one will know about Willow's counterpart and about Dawn, or the Stargate and what you people do" said Joyce, "just.. thank you for protecting Willow."

"Thanks" said Willow as she shook Colonel O'Neill's hand.

"No problem, Red" said the Colonel as he walked outside.

"Major?" said Willow as she turned to face the blonde woman, "I just wanted to thank you as well."

"Just doing our job, Willow" said the Major, "and you're not in the military, so please call me Sam."

"Sure, Sam" smiled Willow, "umm… would it be alright if I emailed you or something…. About stuff?"

"Anytime" smiled the Major as she handed Willow her card, "this has my personal cell, and my extension on base. Call me if you have any questions or if you just want to talk."

"Thanks" said Willow smiling.

"Ummm… sometimes I may be off-world on missions" said the Major, "so don't think that I'm ignoring you as they can last for days, and sometimes weeks."

"Sure" said Willow.

"Major" said Joyce, "please come by anytime."

"I'll try" said the Major, "the both of you have clearance to find out more about what we're doing, so if you ever come to Colorado Springs…"

"Of course" smiled Joyce, "be careful out there. After Willow, I mean the other Willow, told me what she does for a living; it scares me even more than what goes on here."

"Funny" said the Major, "I feel the other way after what the Captain told us. Especially when she said that this city is a hotbed of a certain type of activity."

"But you're taking it well" said Willow.

"To be honest with you" said the Major, "I'm a scientist first and foremost and I believe what I can see. After what I saw today, well….. yeah."

"Right" said Willow.

"Sam" said Daniel as he and Teal'c approached the door, "Jack's in the jeep waiting on us."

"Sure" said the Major as she looked back at Willow, "I'll keep in touch."

"Please" said Willow smiling as she waved at Daniel and Teal'c before they closed the door, leaving Willow and Joyce alone at home.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Summers" said Willow as she turned and looked at Buffy's mother.

"You've got nothing to be sorry about my dear" said Joyce as she ran her hand through Willow's hair, "listen, I'll go change this shirt and then we'll sit down and talk. Aright?"

"I'd like that" said Willow as Joyce ran up the stairs as Willow when to the sofa and sat down with her legs tucked beneath her body was watched as the jeeps carrying SG1 and Maggie and the two soldiers backed out of the driveway and drove away.

'Captain, huh' thought Willow to herself as looked out the window, 'travelling the stars, battling aliens. Sounds like a job for Buffy than me, especially the last part. Picking up a gun and shooting, fighting on my own… when have I ever been able to do that."

"Willow" said a familiar voice as Willow's thoughts were broken.

"Buffy!" said Willow as she quickly sat up and hugged her best friend.

"Wills" said Buffy, "great to see you too."

"I'm sorry, Buffy" said Willow as she broke down crying, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

"Wills" said Buffy as she rubbed Willow's upper back in circles, "what's going on?"

As Buffy continued to hug Willow, she felt the redhead start to tremble.

"Wills?" said Buffy, "now you're scaring me."

"Buffy" said Joyce as she walked down the stairs after having changed her top.

"Mom?" said Buffy confused, "what happened? Why's Willow…. well."

"Something happened, Buffy" said Joyce as she reached the bottom stairs before rubbing her hand on Willow's back as she let go of Buffy.

"Professor Walsh….. Professor Walsh…. " said Willow as she struggled to wipe her tears.

"What happened with Professor Walsh?" asked Buffy concerned.

"Buffy" said Joyce as she recalled the cover story that the Colonel had given her to tell Willow's friends, "Professor Walsh was the director of a rogue military operation in Sunnydale."

"What?!" said Buffy as she looked at her mother and then at Willow.

"She somehow found out about Willow's abilities with magic" said Joyce.

"Willow?" said Buffy in shock, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"NO one did, Buffy" said Joyce as Willow closed her eyes.

"But that still doesn't explain why Willow's…." said Buffy as Willow interrupted here.

"She ordered Riley to kidnap me" said Willow as she opened her tear filled eyes and looked nto the wide, shock filled eyes of Buffy.

"What!" screamed Buffy as she stood up, "it's a joke right? I mean…. Will?"

"I'm sorry, Buffy" said Willow softly.

"Where is he?" said Buffy as tears started falling from her eyes too, "where is he!"

"Buffy!" said Joyce as she glared at her daughter as Willow bent down her head and started to cry again.

"Will" said Buffy as she went to hug Willow again, "no, I wasn't shouting at you… please, don't cry. You're safe now… you're safe."

"Mom?" said Buffy as she pointed at the bruising on Willow's cheek.

"Another group of military personnel from the Air Force was tracking this rogue cell, and they tracked it to Sunnydale. They knew about Riley and so followed him, hoping that he would lead them to the leader."

"They didn't know about Walsh?" asked Buffy as Willow continued laying her head on the blonde's shoulder.

"No" said Joyce, but they luckily managed to catch Riley in the act of kidnapping Willow."

"After you went to see Walsh about that question you had?" asked Buffy to Willow as the redhead nodded.

"Oh Will" said Buffy, "I should never have let you go alone."

"They captured Riley, who later turned on Professor Walsh" said Joyce, "apparently they were conducting experiments with the vampires and demons of Sunnydale."

"Did they get Walsh?" asked Buffy.

"Not at first" said Joyce, "they had a breakout of sorts in that facility, and in the mayhem Professor Walsh escaped with two other soldiers. But after they helped to quieten everything down they went after Walsh again."

"Where was she?" asked an angry Buffy,

"She came here with the two soldiers" said Joyce, "one of them punched Willow. They held us hostage until the ones from the Air Force team was able to rescue us without bloodshed. The only sad part is I had to break one of my vases over a soldier's head."

"Go, mom" said Buffy as she ran her hand through Willow's hair.

"Buffy" said Willow as she looked at Buffy.

"It's alright" said Buffy, "I'm glad you're alright, although I should go ahead and break onto where ever they're holding Riley and give him a piece of my mind."

"One of the Air Force officers said that I could speak up for Riley if I wanted to" said Willow, "and that they'll take that into consideration when trying to figure out what to do with him."

"Willow" said Buffy, "You don't have to."

"I think I do" said Willow, "in the end, he helped the people from the Air Force take Professor Walsh down."

"You don't have to do that for me" said Buffy.

"I think…. I think that maybe he's just a good man inside" said Willow, "I mean, he did turn on Professor Walsh."

"I'm sorry Will" said Buffy.

"Willow" said Joyce, "why don't you go to the guestroom and get some sleep. We'll order some pizza for tonight."

"Sure" said Willow.

"I'll see you later Will" said Buffy as Willow got up and walked up the stairs.

"See you, Buffy" replied Willow.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**The Summers Residence, 2100 hours.**

Joyce was in the kitchen with Buffy when the both of them heard a knock on the door.

"Expecting someone?" asked Buffy as she and Joyce headed up to the front door.

"Ummm…. Hello" said Buffy as she was the first to open the door and see two MP's standing on the porch, "can I help you?"

"Ma'am" said one of the MP's, "My name is Sergeant Ryder and this is Sergeant Kirk, we're looking for Mrs. Summers and Miss. Rosenberg. We were told they would be at this address."

"Good evening" said Joyce, "I'm Mrs. Summers."

"Ma'am" said Sergeant Ryder as he nodded his head, "we're here on the orders of Colonel O'Neill."

"Oh" said Joyce, "I can't believe I forgot about that."

"It's quite all right ma'am" said Sergeant Ryder.

"Wont you come in?" asked Joyce as she moved to one side.

"That's fine, ma'am" said the Sergeant as he pointed to a black van on the other side of the street, "we've got our own transport, thank you for the offer though."

"Thanks for coming" said Joyce.

"Don't worry about it, ma'am" said Sergeant Ryder, "The Colonel just wanted me to remind you that someone will be coming from the Pentagon tomorrow with some paperwork for you and Miss Rosenberg to fill out."

"Of course" smiled Joyce.

"Have a good night, ma'am.. Miss Summers" said Sergeant Ryder as the both of them walked towards the van.

"Good night" said Joyce as she closed the door.

"Wow" said Buffy as she headed back to the kitchen with Joyce, "full military guard."

"Yeah" said Joyce as she unconsciously rubbed the area the bullet Forrest fired went through her body. "it was pretty bad, but luckily those Air Force people came through in the end."

"Right" said Buffy, "I'm sorry I wasn't here, I could have done something."

"No!" said Joyce loudly as Buffy looked at her as if she had grown a second head, "No, what I mean is that if you were here, then that Professor Walsh may have taken you away too."

"Still" said Buffy, "I know I could have taken those goons."

"I'm glad you weren't here" said Joyce as she hugged Buffy, "I was scared for you. I was afraid that you'd come into the house unexpectedly and that soldier would have fired on you with his gun."

"Mom" said Buffy.

"Listen to me" said Joyce, "I know how strong you are, I know you are agile but never underestimate the power of a bullet. I'm glad you weren't here because if you were, you would have done everything you could to rescue us. But one bullet from that hothead would have killed you and I don't think I could have taken that."

"Mom" said Buffy as she hugged Joyce tightly, "I'm alright, you're alright and Willow's alright."

"I think this has traumatised her" said Joyce.

"She'll be alright" said Buffy, "she always pulls through."

"This time she'll need all of us" said Joyce as Buffy looked at her confused, "she told me about Oz and how he cheated on her. Then today, another two people she considered close also betrayed her. This time they seemed to be willing to do horrible things to find out how her abilities worked."

"God, if I'd known about Riley" said Buffy

Joyce recalled what Willow had told her after her talk with her counterpart; that Maggie had intended to kill the both of them so that she could examine their brains to find out how their powers worked. She recalled at how horrified she felt about the depths of depravity some humans, just as vampires or demons, could go to.

"She needs our support now" said Joyce, "more than ever she needs our support."

"I know" said Buffy, "how long has she been in the guest room?"

"I went up to check on her a few hours ago" said Joyce, "she was lying on her side and just crying. I sat beside her for awhile until she quietly fell asleep."

"Her parents?" asked Buffy.

"I called Xander" said Joyce, "I didn't tell him about what happened and he…"

"Mom" said Buffy, "Xander's like her oldest friend, he should know what happened."

"Let's give her tonight, Buffy" said Joyce, "I have a feeling she doesn't want to be crowded right now."

Just then they heard a scream followed by a familiar voice shouting.

"Willow" said Joyce and Buffy together as they looked at each other before taking off towards the stairs.

As they reached the stairs, they heard knocking on the front door.

"Buffy" said Joyce, "can you get that? I'll go to Willow."

'Alright" said Buffy as she opened the door, only to reveal the two Sergeants who had their hands on their weapons but didn't draw them out.

"Sorry Miss Summers, but Sergeant Ryder heard a scream and…" said Sergeant Kirk as Joyce quickly ran down the stairs.

"Mrs. Summers?" asked Sergeant Ryder, "is Miss Rosenberg…?"

"She's alright" said Joyce who seemed out of breath, "she's alright, she just had a nightmare."

"Are you sure, ma'am?" asked Sergeant Kirk.

"Yes" said Joyce as she tried to catch her breath, "thanks for worrying."

"Just doing our job ma'am" said Sergeant Ryder as the both of them stood at ease, "good night again, ma'am"

"Good night" said Joyce as she closed the door before she and Buffy ran up the stairs.

"Will" said Buffy as she and Joyce walked into the room.

"Buff?" said Willow as she sat on one side of the bed which was placed right against the wall. Buffy was shocked at the Willow she saw now, her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was all over the place, and she was sitting with her knees pulled close to her body as she trembled.

"Hey" said Buffy as she got on the bed and sat beside the redhead.

"Willow" said Joyce as she sat on the bed and faced her, "what was your nightmare about?"

"They… they took me away" said Willow as tears started to flow down her face; "they took me away to some sterile room and put me on a metal table. So cold… the table was so cold."

Buffy put her arms around her best friend's shoulders when she started to put her arms around herself and shiver.

"You're alright" said Buffy, "mom and I are here."

"I was on the cold table" said Willow, "Professor Walsh…. She…. She was standing there with other people in lab coats. I looked around and saw I.V lines going into my wrists, but I couldn't move. No matter how much I willed my body to move…. I just couldn't. I wanted to scream, call for help…. Call for me… but I couldn't."

"Huh" said Buffy as she looked at Joyce, "did she just say 'call for me'?"

"I think she meant call for you" smiled Joyce as she thought to herself, 'she was calling for her counterpart…. She was hoping she'd save her.'

"Two of the people in lab coats tightened the straps on my feet" continued Willow, "then they strapped my hands to the table. I tried to shout, to beg for my life. But my mouth couldn't move. Then Professor Walsh walked towards me with two other people. She put on a surgical mask as she smiled at me. She said that I'll be the future, that my brain held the key to the soldier she wanted to create. That she'll remember my sacrifice."

"Willow" said Joyce as she held her hand.

"I didn't want to" said Willow in tears, "I didn't want to, not like that."

"Will" said Buffy, "it didn't happen, you have to believe me… this is real. You're awake now."

"She then grabbed a saw… I guess it was a bone saw" said Willow as she looked up at Joyce, "she took the bone saw and brushed my hair away from my forehead. One of the lab coat wearing people asked her if she shouldn't shave my hair. She said there was no need since my body would be going into the incinerator anyway."

"Oh Willow" said Buffy.

"I knew Riley was looking on" said Willow as she started to breakdown again before she regained some semblance of composure, "my eyes were still moving, and I saw him staring at me from the corner of my eyes. I saw regret but he couldn't do anything because he was following orders. I then looked up at Professor Walsh, she said 'thank you Willow' and then she activated the saw. I tried screaming but I couldn't, I felt the saw cut into my skull but I couldn't scream. My eyes were looking at the white fluorescent light as I felt the blood run down the side of my head. The lab coat wearing people then started to laugh, as if watching my suffering was funny. Then I heard a pop and Professor Walsh said that she was done and ordered riley to bring the scale. She then told me that I was a hero, that the Initiative would always remember my contribution to their cause before she put my brain on the weighing scale and smiled. She said that it was amazing. I was confused so I tried to look closer although I could feel my eyelids getting heavy. I saw light coming from my brain, a bright white light. Professor Walsh then turned to me and said 'Thank you' before she turned to Riley and ordered him to take my body to the incinerator. Riley picked me up, I tried to plead with him but I couldn't do anything. I was helpless and then we reached the incinerator. He ordered a soldier to open the incinerator and then he walked up with my body to the open door. All he said was 'goodbye Willow, rest in peace', before he threw me inside and closed the door. I could feel the heat from the fire as it melted my skin and flesh… and… that's when…"

"You woke up" said Joyce as she grabbed Willow and hugged her tightly as she broke down, "you woke up, you're safe."

"Mom" said Buffy.

"Can you get her some water, dear?" asked Joyce.

"Of course" said Buffy as she squeezed Willow's shoulder and kissed the top of her head, "you're safe, Will. I'll protect you from now on. I swear."

"Willow" said Joyce after Buffy had left, "everything's alright, you're at home now. You're safe."

"I'm sorry" said Willow as she wiped her eyes, "I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

"Don't say that, Willow" said Joyce, "you've got two MP's outside to protect you, you've got Buffy to protect and you've got me."

"Thank you" said Willow.

"Mom" said Buffy as she came back in with the water when the doorbell rang.

"You stay with Willow" said Joyce before she turned to face the redhead, "I'll be right back, Willow."

"Alright" said Willow.

"Will" said Buffy as she put her arm around the redhead's shoulders again.

"I'm tired Buffy" said Willow as she lay her head on the blonde's shoulders.

"Sleep" said Buffy, "I'm here."

"K" replied Willow as she closed her eyes again.

Joyce had just paid for the large pizza she ordered for dinner and was in the kitchen as she put some slices on plates for the three of them and put the others into some foil packaging. Taking the plates upstairs, she opened the door and saw that Willow was sleeping as her head lay on Buffy's shoulder, while Buffy lay her head on Willow's with her eyes closed.

Smiling at the two best friends, Joyce slowly closed the door and walked back down the stairs. She then picked up the foil packed pizza and went out the front door to the van.

"Thanks ma'am" said Sergeant Kirk after Joyce handed them the pizza before Joyce headed back into the house and closed the door.

Looking up the stairs, she knew that she still had to ask Buffy about Faith, and most importantly, she had a promise to keep; the promise she made to the alternate Faith. She already made plans to visit Faith, even though she was still in a coma.

'At least she'll know that someone's was there for her' thought Joyce to herself, 'that's what she needs right now.'

"But first" said Joyce as she headed upstairs, "I need to make sure Willow's alright."

TBC.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**The Summers Residence, 0945 hours.**

Willow snapped her eyes open and woke up in what seemed to be strange surroundings.

"Where am I?" she asked herself as she sat up in the strange bed and looked around, "Oh, right. Buffy's house. I'm in her guest room."

As she put her feet onto the carpet, Willow shivered after she remembered the incident that brought her to this situation.

'Riley' thought Willow to herself, 'how could you do that to me? How could you hurt Buffy?'

Willow walked over to the door and opened it before she headed down the stairs where she could hear Joyce talking to someone in the living room.

"Mrs Summers?" said Willow as she reached the living room and noticed that Joyce was talking to someone very familiar, it was the same man that her counterpart had used as a disguise when she and the others had rescued her.

"Willow" said Joyce as she and the man she was talking to stood up.

"Miss Rosenberg, I'm Major Paul Davis from the Pentagon"

"Oh" said Willow, "hello."

"Please" said Major Davis, "take a seat."

"Where's Buffy?" asked Willow as she sat next to Joyce.

"Buffy wanted to stay in and watch over you" said Joyce, "but I told her it would be better if she went for her classes, especially since Colonel O'Neill said that someone would be coming in today to talk to us."

"And that would be you?" said Willow as she pointed at the Major.

"Yes" replied Major Davis, "I'm here to answer any questions that you may have and tell you what's going to happen from this point out."

"OK" said Willow as she looked at Joyce before looking back at the Major.

"First of all" said the Major as he handed Willow a manila folder, "please read over that and then sign it."

"What's this?" asked Willow.

"It's a Non-Disclosure Agreement" said the Major, "the same one that Mrs. Summers had signed yesterday. It basically says that everything you heard in regards to the Stargate, Aliens and others are considered Top Secret. In other words, divulging any information of the Stargate to anyone would be regarded as treason against the US government."

"Oh" said Willow as she looked at Joyce who smiled and nodded at the redhead.

After Willow had signed the documents, she handed the folder back to Major Davis.

"Immediately following the incident yesterday" said the Major, "the Pentagon launched an investigation into the Initiative. While a lot of the things they found is considered confidential, I received permission from my superiors to inform you of a certain…. Ummm…. a certain intrusion into your private life."

"What do you mean?" asked Willow.

"We found video feeds from your dorm room to the Initiative HQ" said the Major.

"What?" said Joyce and Willow together.

"Wait" said Willow, "you mean they….. they…."

"I'm sorry" said the Major, "but yes, they put miniature cameras and microphones in your room. Although the connection has been severed from the Initiative's side, we'd still like to collect the cameras and microphones from your room. With your permission of course."

"Ye… yes.. of course" said Willow as he hands started to tremble, "get them out of there. Please get them out of there. Did they record anything?"

"Unfortunately yes" said the Major, "and since it is your room, we would prefer it if you were there to witness the removal of these cameras and microphones."

"I…. I…" said Willow as she looked at the Major and then at Joyce.

"Would it be alright if I came along as well?" asked Joyce.

"Of course" said the Major as he looked at Joyce before turning to Willow and held her trembling hands, "I'm hoping that witnessing the removal of these items will at least give you some measure of closure. I know it's not much but…"

"I understand" said Willow, "as long as Mrs. Summers is able to come with me."

"Of course" said Joyce as she ran her hands through Willow's hair.

"Very well" said the Major, "there is one more issue that we need to talk about."

"Alright" replied Willow and Joyce together.

"When Colonel O'Neill was talking to Captain Rosenberg" said the Major, "she mentioned her special status which was due to the way she arrived at the SGC and her abilities."

"Oh?" said Joyce.

"Yes" replied the Major as he looked at Willow, "as of this moment, you have a Top Secret: Presidential Eyes Only file that would only be known to the President. The vice-president or the joint chiefs will not have access."

"The… the President?" said Willow surprised who looked at Joyce who looked equally surprised, "the President of what?"

"The United States" said the Major.

"You're kidding" said Willow surprised.

"No, I am not" replied the Major, "and if one day you do decide to join the SGC, this special status will also be made known to the SGC base commander, at least the next base commander. The current commander, General George Hammond knows about your abilities and is hoping to meet you one day."

"Oh" said Willow in surprise, "not that this isn't great… I mean I'm grateful and all.. but isn't this going a bit too far? I'm no one really special."

"Miss Rosenberg" said the Major as he leaned forward on the couch, "there are other organizations that would be looking to experiment on you if they could. The Initiative was in connection will one such organization known as the NID."

"Bad news?" asked Joyce.

"Yes" said the Major, "but we haven't been able to find any information on you or your abilities that has been sent to them."

"I see" said Willow.

"Miss Rosenberg" said the Major, "with all due respect; it takes someone special to survive in this city. At least based on what I've read from the Colonel's preliminary report."

"Don't think too low of yourself, Willow" said Joyce.

"Oh" said the Major as he reached into his jacket and took out an envelope and handed it to Willow, "this is a letter from the current SGC commander, General Hammond."

"Ummm…. thanks?" said Willow as she took the envelope and opened it.

"So" said Joyce as she watched Willow read the letter, "what's it say?"

"Ummm…" said Willow as her eyes opened wider and wider as he read the letter, "he…. He… he's recommending me for admission into the Air Force Academy?"

"Really?" said Joyce as she looked at Willow and then at the Major.

"Yes" said Willow as she handed the letter to Joyce.

"Wow" said Joyce as she read through the letter.

"Why?" said Willow, "why are you people recommending me for this? I'm nothing, I didn't do anything."

"When Colonel O'Neill submitted his preliminary report immediately after the incident" said the Major, "he wrote about how well your counterpart held up, she worked well in a team and even saved lives. He wrote, and I'm quoting this, 'Captain Rosenberg kicked ass today. I have every reason to believe that with the required training, her counterpart would be able to do the same. Major Carter, Daniel and Teal'c are also of the opinion that Miss Rosenberg would be an incredible asset to the SGC in protecting this planet.'"

"But" said Willow, "I'm not her. I'm not my counterpart."

"I know" said the Major, "but we've seen firsthand a glimpse of your potential. They don't want you to be like your counterpart, but they do want you to be a part of a team that protects this planet."

"But…" said Willow as Joyce held her hands and squeezed.

"Major" said Joyce, "let's say that Willow agrees to do this, join the Academy…"

"Mrs. Summers" said Willow as she looked at Joyce in surprise.

"Willow" said Joyce, "I don't really understand a lot of this stuff about alternate realities, but one thing I'm absolutely sure of is that you could be so much more."

"Mrs Summers?" said Willow.

"I know how you really feel about staying here in Sunnydale" said Joyce, "I know why you stayed."

"But…" said Willow as Joyce interrupted her.

"I've seen you today" said Joyce as she put a hand on Willow's cheek, "I saw you happy for the first time, so happy doing something that you loved."

"But it wasn't me" said Willow.

"That's where you're wrong" said Joyce, "she was someone you could be. Forget the powers and weapons and all that, that's not what matters. I want to see you be happy."

"Miss Rosenberg" said the Major, "if you do decide to take up this offer, the Air Force will take care of everything for you. If you decide to go for further studies, we'll even pay for that. But, since the earliest we can put you into the Academy will be a few months from now, you'll be given basic training in hand to hand and weapons proficiency before you get into the Academy. Think of it like a crash course in military protocol."

"But?" said Willow as she continued to look at the letter as she rubbed her forehead.

"The only condition is that you have to attend counselling sessions at least once a week" said the Major as he looked at Willow and Joyce.

"But I don't need to be…" said Willow as the Major interrupted her.

"Have you been having the nightmares yet?" asked the Major softly.

"How?" said Willow and Joyce.

"Its common among victims of your type of situation" said the Major, "the Air Force will be offering you counselling as a condition of you accepting that offer."

"If I don't accept it?" said Willow.

"We'll be keeping an eye on you" said the Major, "for your protection. And if you'd like, we can give you names of some counsellors in the general vicinity of Sunnydale. Of course you can't mention the Stargate or Aliens to them, but we can help you find someone reputable."

"I see" said Willow, "Can I…. I mean can I speak with Major Carter?"

"I'm afraid that she and the team have been called away on an urgent mission" said the Major, "they left a couple of hours ago."

"Oh" said Willow, "do you know when she would be back?"

"We're not sure" said the Major.

"I see" said Willow, "can I have some time to think this over?"

"How does a month sound?" asked the Major.

"Sounds good" said Willow as she kept on looking at the letter, "I guess."

"Willow" said Joyce, "you should talk to Xander, Buffy and the others about this. You know what my feelings are, but ultimately it's your decision and I'll support you no matter what."

"Thank you" said Willow as she squeezed Joyce's hand before looking at the Major, "I'd like to go and watch those camera's get ripped out of my room, please."

"Of course" smiled the Major, "I'll wait for you outside."

"Thank you, Major" said Joyce.

"It's no problem" said the Major as he opened the door and walked to an awaiting van.

TBC.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**214 Stevenson Hall, 1200 hours.**

"Hey Willow…. mum" said Buffy who was waiting outside their room at the dorms, "what's going on?"

"Miss Summers" said Major Davis, "I'm sorry to say but the people the Air Force has been going after had been spying on Miss Rosenberg, and by extension, you for the past day or so."

"What!" said Buffy as she looked at Joyce and then at an upset Willow, "spying?"

"Yes" said Major Davis as two MP's carried out a large box.

"Are those the cameras and microphones?" asked Willow as she pointed at the box that was being hailed out by the two MPs.

"Yes" said the Major as he motioned over to the MP's to hold before looking at Willow, "would you like to take a look?"

"Yes" said Willow as Joyce's hand tightened around the redhead's.

"Very well" said the Major as he told the MP's to put the box down onto the floor and then he crouched down and opened the box.

"Mrs. Summers, Buffy" said Willow as she wiped her eyes and stood up straight, "I think this is something I'd like to do by myself."

"You sure?" said Buffy as she stood beside her best friend.

"Yea" said Willow as she smiled at Buffy before turning to face Joyce, who gace her a small nod.

"Miss Rosenberg" said the Major as he took the box back into the room and closed the door behind him as he and the MP's showed Willow where they took the cameras and microphones from.

While Willow and the others were inside the room, Buffy turned to face Joyce.

"Mom" said Buffy, "you have no ideas how sorry I am."

"Why are you sorry?" asked Joyce, "you couldn't have done anything, and I wouldn't have wanted you to."

"I was interested in Riley" said Buffy, "this wouldn't have happened if I never knew him."

"There's no way to know that" said Joyce as she put an arm around her shoulders, "it could still have happened, I'm just glad you weren't there. Fighting vampires and demons is one thing, I don't think I could have taken it if you were shot right in front of me."

"I could have taken them" said Buffy, "but right now, I just want to hive Riley a piece of my mind."

"Does Giles and Xander know what happened?" asked Joyce.

"No" said Buffy, "Willow said that she'll let them know soon."

"When all of this is settled" said Joyce, "I'll planning on a day trip, I want to visit Faith in the hospital."

"Faith?" said Buffy as she looked at her mother, "why?"

"I've just been thinking about her lately" said Joyce, "she's alone, with no one to look out for her. That does things to people."

"She's dangerous, mom" said Buffy, "she killed the Mayor's aide, she killed that professor because the Mayor told her to, and she almost killed me."

"She's in a coma" said Joyce as she looked at Buffy, "I read somewhere that it's good to speak to coma patients, they can hear you. I just want to show her that she's not alone."

"I'll go with you then" said Buffy, "you're not going alone to visit that crazy…. Person."

"I'll be fine" said Joyce smiling.

"Mom…" said Buffy just as the door to the room opened and Willow and the Major walked out.

"Everything alright, Willow?" asked Joyce as she walked towards the redhead.

"Yes" said Willow as she nodded her head.

"Willow" said Buffy.

"Don't worry, Buff" said Willow, "the cameras were pointed at me, although the microphones amy have picked up our conversation from the night before last. You know, when Spike came into our room."

"Oh" said Buffy.

"Miss Rosenberg" said the Major as he motioned to the MP's to take the box away, "I'll be off now, please consider our offer."

"Offer?" asked Buffy as she looked at Joyce, "what offer?"

"Thanks, Major" said Willow, "but I'd like to speak with Sam, before I make a decision?"

"Of course" said Major Davis, "I'll make sure that she calls you once she returns Stateside."

"Thank you" said Willow as she walked up to the Major and hugged him, "thank you for giving me some sense of closure."

"It wasn't a problem" said Major Davis as she stepped back, "we'll be in touch."

"Ma'am" said the Major as he nodded at a smiling Joyce before he looked at Buffy, "Miss Summers, have a good day."

"Goodbye, Major" said Joyce, "and please give Colonel O'Neill and the others a message. Please thank them for saving Willow."

"Of course" said the Major, "goodbye."

"Bye" said Joyce as the Major turned around and walked away.

"Hey Wills" said Buffy as she hugged the redhead, "come on, let's go for lunch."

"Alright" said Willow quietly as she looked at the Major walk away before she went and closed the door.

"Mom?" said Buffy as she looked at Joyce, "come with us."

"Actually" said Joyce as she looked at the look Willow was giving her, "sure…. Burgers?"

"Yep" said Buffy as she held both Joyce's and Willow's hands.

**The Summers Residence, 1900 hours.**

"Hey Mrs. S" said Xander as he and Anya came into the house, "everything alright? Will wasn't too forthcoming on her call. She just said she wanted to talk to us."

"I'll leave the details for Willow" said Joyce, "why don't the both of you have a seat first, we're waiting for Rupert to come and then we'll begin."

"Alright" said Xander as he led Anya to the living room.

"Why is there a hole on the carpet?" asked Anya as she pointed to the hole that Forrest made when he shot at Dawn earlier.

"Yeah" said Xander as he walked up to it, "it's a bullet hole."

Xander then turned to Joyce with worry etched on his face.

"Mrs. Summers, what happened?" asked Xander.

"Willow will tell you" said Joyce, "it's important that she be the one to tell all of you."

Just then the doorbell rang again.

"I'll be right back" said Joyce as she went on to open the door, only to find an older gentleman with glasses standing on the porch.

"Good evening, Joyce" said Giles as he nodded at Buffy's mother.

"Rupert" smiled Joyce as she moved to one side, "please, come in."

"Thank you" replied Giles, "I received Willow's message, it sounded urgent."

"It was" said Willow as she and Buffy walked down the stairs together, "thanks for coming."

"Will?" said Xander, "what's going on?"

"Ummm" said Willow as she looked at Joyce for reassurance and smiled when she nodded, "I think we should all sit down."

"Alright" said Giles as he followed everyone to the living room. He had noticed that Buffy sat alongside Xander and Anya on the couch while Willow had sat next to joyce on two chairs. Giles himself settled on sitting on the armchair which he moved so that he was facing Willow and Joyce.

"Ummm" said Willow, "yesterday, there was an incident that happened to me."

"An incident?" said Anya, "what kind of incident, I mean there are so many….."

"Anya" said Xander, "let Will talk."

"Sorry" replied Anya sheepishly.

"After class yesterday" said Willow as Joyce held Willow's hand and squeezed, "I was almost kidnapped."

"What!?" said Giles and Xander stood up together.

"Who?" said Giles.

"Why?" asked Xander.

"It was Riley" said Buffy as she looked at both Xander and Giles.

"Riley?" said Giles.

"The guy I was interested in" replied Buffy.

"Wait" said Anya, "you said almost kidnapped."

"Yes" said Willow as she looked at Anya, "Riley and Professor Walsh was a part of a secret military organization that was conducting some illegal research into demons and vampires in Sunnydale. They wanted to find a way to control them. Remember those commando's we saw on Halloween?"

"They were really soldiers?" asked Xander surprised.

"Yes" said Willow, "and they must have see me do magic or something, I guess and decided that I should be taken in for questioning."

"Oh Willow" said Giles as he walked over to the redhead, "I'm so sorry."

"They were operating illegally" said Joyce, "and another group from the Air Force was tracking them too. When they saw this Riley person trying to kidnap Willow, they had to move in."

"The Air Force?" asked Xander.

"Yes" said Willow, "they saw what was going on and saved me. One of them actually drove me back here while the others questioned Riley and the other soldiers about the base."

"That was before they went into the base and stopped whatever it was that they were doing" said Joyce, "I talked with the Colonel in charge of the operation and he told me what happened."

"Joyce?" said Giles.

"After they had taken down the base" said Joyce, "apparently Professor Walsh and two other soldiers escaped and came here."

"While you were at home?" asked Anya in shock as she squeezed Xander's hand.

"Yes" said Joyce, "the Air Force personnel who brought Willow here stayed to protect us but she was shot in the shoulder. When she tried to defend us, the soldier shot the carpet to stop her."

"Oh" said Xander, "at least you and Willow were alright."

"Yes" said Joyce as she unconsciously rubbed the area the bullet went through from Forrest's gun, "yes, we were alright. They couldn't harm us since the other Air Force officers managed to come in the nick of time and took Professor Walsh and the others away."

"And that wasn't all" said Willow as she looked at Buffy who nodded at the redhead to continue, "they had also bugged my room with cameras and microphones."

"Oh dear lord" said Giles.

"Someone from the Pentagon came by earlier today and told me about it" said Willow, "he even showed me the box that was full of cameras and microphones. He wanted me to have some closure."

"Oh Will" said Xander as he walked up to Willow and hugged her, "I'm so sorry, I wish I was there to help you."

"Same here" said Buffy.

"Are you people idiots?" said Anya as everyone looked at her surprised.

"Willow" said Anya as she looked at the redhead, "I'm sorry about what happened to you, I really am and just know that I'm not criticising you in any way. What happened to you should never happen to anyone. What I have to say is for Buffy and Xander."

"Ahn" said Xander, "not now."

"No" said Anya, "the both of you say that you wish you were there for Willow, great… good for you… really… it's just that if you were there, you could have been shot with a bullet and died."

"No we…." said Buffy.

"Don't say that" said Anya as she held on to Xander and looked at Buffy, "we have enough to worry about with demons and vampires, I don't need to worry about my boyfriend facing off against trigger happy soldiers who were so willing to break the law. You think you could just tell them that you're the Slayer and that they would have let you go? They would have probably shot you and took you away with Willow to be experimented on."

"Anya" said Joyce as she got up and smiled, "I've already talked to Buffy about this, it's alright. Everyone's safe."

"Did they threaten you as well?" asked Giles as he looked at Joyce.

"Yes" said Joyce, "they wanted to make my death looks like a accident before burning the house down."

"Oh God" said Giles as he stood up, "I'm glad that the other people from the Air Force were able to save you and Willow."

"The other woman who was protecting us helped a lot too" said Willow as she remembered how Dawn had beat Forrest, "and the other two female Air Force personnel stopped them from doing anymore damage."

"I'm just glad that no one else was hurt" said Giles as he stood up and approached Willow, "I'm glad you're doing alright."

"Me too" said Willow.

"But…." Said Joyce as she looked at Willow and nodded.

"But?" said Buffy, "there's a but?"

"They told me that other groups, one in particular would be wanting to come after me now" said Willow, "and the Air Force offered me protection."

"You're kidding" said Xander, "the military messed up and now they want to help you?"

"The Air Force wasn't to help me" said Willow.

"That offer that man was talking about?" asked Buffy.

"Yes" said Joyce as she squeezed Willow's hand.

"What was the offer?" asked Giles.

"The Air Force wants me" said Willow as Xander and the others looked on in surprise, "one of the officers who came to rescue me, I've read up on her. She's one of the smartest people and one of the toughest women I've met since the first time I've met Buffy. She and her superior officers recommended me for admission into the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs."

"Willow" said a still shocked Buffy, "you're serious?"

"Yes" said Willow as she took out the letter and showed it to Buffy who read it before showing it to Xander and then Giles.

"It's a great opportunity, Buffy" said Joyce, "it's a great opportunity for Willow."

"Willow" said Buffy, "you can't go."

"Buffy" said Joyce, "it's her decision."

"I know, but…." Said Buffy as Xander interrupted the Slayer.

"Will" said Xander, "if you go.. I mean… what happens to us? What happens to the Scoobies? If you go to the Academy and graduate, then you'll be bonded. You'll be active, you can't simply just quit after you're done. I mean… come on, it's always been you and me since we were kids in Sunnydale. You should stay, Buffy will look out for you. We'll all look out for you, we'll protect you."

"I can't believe you" said Anya.

"Ahn" said Xander as he turned back to face his girlfriend, "stay out of this. It doesn't concern you."

"What?" said Anya as she looked at Willow and at Joyce.

"NO" said Willow as she returned Anya's look, "I really want to know what you think. I know we haven't exactly looked eye to eye on a lot of things but I'd still like your input."

"Ummm" said a surprised Anya, "thanks."

"So…" said Joyce.

"Oh" replied Anya as she looked at Buffy and then at Xander, "this is Willow's decision completely. She should do what's best for her, not what's best for Buffy, or Xander, me or Giles or even Joyce. She should do something that she can live with in the morning. This is a massive opportunity, isn't it?"

"Yes" said Willow quietly, "it is."

"Have you made a decision?" asked Anya as she approached Willow as held both her trembling hands.

"No" said Willow, "the man who came from the Pentagon gave me a month to decide."

"It's a massive decision" said Anya, "but the opportunity…"

"Equally massive" said Willow.

"You have my support" said Anya, "whatever you decide, you have my support."

"Mine too" said Joyce.

"Mom!" said Buffy.

"Buffy" said Joyce, "the both of you are best friends, she needs your support for either decision."

"I… I… I'm sorry" said Buffy as she wrapped her hands around herself and stepped back.

"Buffy" said Joyce as she walked to her daughter and hugged her, "shh….. Willow hasn't made a decision yet, but she needs your support no matter what."

"Don't go" said Buffy as she looked at Willow.

"Yeah, Will" said Xander, "I need my Wills here."

"Rupert?" said Joyce as she looked at a still surprised Watcher.

"Willow" said Giles as he walked towards the Redhead, "the Watchers Council can protect you, I can request a favour from them. The Government won't come after you again, I promise."

"Can you really do that?" asked Buffy.

"I can try" said Giles as he looked at Buffy before turning his head to look at Willow, "but its up to Willow."

"Come on Will" said Xander, "take the offer, I mean the Council one."

"I… I…." said Willow as she looked at the group of people looking right at her, "I want to think about the offer from the Air Force."

"What!?" said both Buffy and Xander.

"Are you certain, Willow?" said Giles quietly.

"Yes" said Willow, "I made a promise to Sam that I'd think about it."

"You can just pretend to think about it" said Xander as he turned to Giles, "call your contacts, get her the protection."

"Xander" said Anya, "she said no."

"NO she didn't" said Xander as he turned to Willow, "right?"

"Xander" said Willow, "please."

"No" said Xander, "I'm not letting you go."

"Neither am I" said Buffy, "if you go, then the both of us are going."

"Buffy" said Giles, "this is completely Willow's decision, and you leaving is not up for debate. You are the Slayer, the guardian of the Hellmouth. I'm sorry but Sunnydale needs you more than Colorado Springs."

"I quit, then" said Buffy, "I'm leaving unless Willow stays. An there is nothing you can do to stop me."

"Buffy" said Giles.

All this while, Joyce looked on as Willow stepped back and sat on the chair and put her hands into her hands.

"Willow" said Joyce as she walked over to the redhead, "do you want to go to bed?"

"I wish I'd gotten to know more about her" whispered Willow, "I was angry at her for leaving everyone behind but she made the wish but she chose to stay. Why can't I be more like her?"

"She's not you" whispered Joyce as she heard the group behind her and Willow bickering, "but she loves her work. She told me as much."

"But" said Willow, "I want to go, I want to step through and see what's out there… my God Mrs. Summers, aliens saved your life, I want to meet them. I want to do something more with my life, but can I do it at the cost of Buffy and Xander's friendship?"

"I'm sure your counterpart faced the same thing from her Buffy and Xander" said Joyce, "whatever happened, it sure looked like she was happy. Happy with her friends, happy with….. happy with… Dawn, she loved what she was doing."

"Do you think I should call Major Davis and accept the offer?" asked Willow.

"It's up to you" said Joyce as she ran her hand through Willow's hair, "I'll support everything you do."

"Giles" said Buffy as she walked towards Joyce and Willow, breaking their conversation, "I wantthe number. I'll call on behalf of Willow. I'll ask them… no.. I'll tell them to protect Willow."

"No" said Willow.

"Do it, Buff" said Xander.

"Xander" said Anya, "its Willow's decision."

"We're helping her make it" said Xander, "my duty is to protect her Ahn, I need to protect her."

"Me too" said Buffy as she grabbed the phone.

"Stop!" shouted Willow as she stood up and faced everyone who had simply stopped moving.

"Will?" said Buffy who had tears in her eyes already.

"Please, just stop" said Willow, "this is my decision, it's something that I have to do for me. Just let me make the decision, please."

"Will" said Xander, "we're trying to help you."

"Xan" said Willow, "we've always done everything together, this time… this time I need to do this for myself. I need to finally take responsibility for my own life. I've always had you watch out for me…. protecting me….. this time I need to learn how to look after myself."

"Will" said Xander, "your parents….."

"They've never been there" said Willow, "you know that Xander. I've done everything for everyone else. I stayed here in Sunnydale for my friends at the cost of the other opportunities that were offered to me. I stayed to make other happy, I changed myself… became someone else to make others happy. You know what I love?"

Willow looked on as Xander and Buffy shook their heads.

"I love technology" said Willow, "I love to build things, I love to see how things work, I love taking things apart and then rebuilding them. But I've had to give all that up so that I'm less nerdy when I'm around you or Buffy."

"Will" said Buffy, "I never asked you to change."

"You weren't explicit" said Willow, "but it was implied. I changed for you and Xander, and now… now, I've been given this new opportunity. You really want me to give it up?"

"Will" said Xander, "you can build things here, you don't need to go all the way to Colorado Springs."

"But I want to be something more" said Willow, "Xan, you were soldier guy during Halloween. You have all the memories of what it's like. Buffy, you're already special… you're the Slayer. I'm nothing, but this offer from the Air Force gives me a chance to truly be myself… to be something more."

"What are you saying?" said Buffy as she slowly sat down on the sofa with Joyce who had seen how upset Buffy had gotten.

"I think… I think….." said Willow as she looked at the letter and smiled, "I think I want to do this, I want to see what I'm capable of, I want to reach my potential."

"Are you sure about this?" asked Giles.

"Yes" smiled Willow, "I'm sure."

"Then congratulations" said Giles as he hugged Willow, "I want you to be happy, and if this is what makes you happy then….. I'm all for it."

"Thank you" said Willow.

"I'm sorry" said Xander as he grabbed his coat and open the door, "I don't support this."

"Xander" said Anya.

"I'm sorry, Will" said Xander as he slammed the door shut.

"Xan" said Willow as she ran to the door.

"Willow" said Anya as she grabbed the redhead's shoulder, "give him some time."

"Alright" said Willow.

"You made a decision for yourself" said Anya as she hugged Willow, "I'm happy for you. You have my support."

"Thanks" said Willow.

"I'll talk to him" said Anya, "he's just upset but he'll come around."

"Thanks" said Willow as she hugged the former vengeance demon.

"I'll see you later" said Anya as she opened the door and ran after Xander.

"Bye" said Willow before she closed the door and turned to face an upset Buffy, "Buff, Sam said that she and the others will be helping me with combat training before I get to the Academy. But I was wondering if I could maybe start some of my training with you? Especially in hand to hand combat? Please?"

"I… I… I'm sorry" said Buffy as she ran up the stairs.

"Oh" said an increasingly upset Willow as she looked at Joyce and then Giles, "what have I done?"

"You made a decision for yourself" said Joyce as she hugged Willow, "I just want you to be happy and I want you to find yourself. Take every opportunity that comes your way and make yourself happy."

"She's right, Willow" said Giles, "if this makes you happy, then you should do it."

"Thanks Giles" said Willow.

"You better get some sleep" said Giles, "we have a busy day tomorrow."

"Busy day?" asked Willow in confusion.

"Training" smiled Giles, "I'll train you every day in unarmed combat until the Air Force takes over."

"Oh thank you!" said Willow as she hugged Giles, "thank you so much."

"And don't worry about Buffy" said Joyce as she squeezed Willow's shoulder before she headed up the stairs, "Buffy will understand."

"Mrs. Summers?" said Willow.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Thank you" said Willow with a smile.

"It was nothing my dear" replied Joyce as she headed up.

"Good night, Willow" said Giles as he opened the door.

"Thanks again, Giles" said Willow as she closed the door behind him.

TBC.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Common Area, Stevenson Hall, One Week later, 1200 hours.**

Willow had just finished another training session with Giles when she noticed that her Wicca group was already gathered in the common area of her dorm. She walked past the small group as they started to talk about baking some cakes for a bake sale when one girl, a blonde, had nervously asked about doing some conjuring spell when the lead girl suddenly shot down that idea.

The redhead was going through her mail when she heard the blonde girl talk and she looked up and saw the girl who had talked looking back at her. After giving her a small smile, Willow knew that she recognized the girl from when she used to be a part of the group. She hadn't really met her properly but Willow knew that she was extremely shy and nervous, that the girl rarely talked unless she was spoken too. And also, she just confirmed to Willow that she was a real witch in a group of wannabe's.

'Maybe she could help Buffy after I leave' thought Willow to herself.

Upon thinking about Buffy, Willow's face fell. Her best friends, both Xander and Buffy, still weren't supporting her wanting to join the Air Force, although the others were supporting her. Even Willow's parents were surprised but eventually gave Willow their support. She still hasn't been able to talk to Major Carter, but Willow recalled that the Major told her that she could be off-world for days or weeks at any one time.

'Maybe she's still off-world' thought Willow to herself, 'but I hope she gets back soon.'

"Alright" said the lead girl of the group, "we'll have a session next Tuesday, and remember to bring some ideas for the bake sale."

"Sure" said another girl as she slowly got up and walked past Willow.

As Willow was turning around to get up the stairs, she noticed the blonde girl stand up and then give her a small wave. Willow returned the wave before she stopped turning around and walked towards the girl, all the while carrying her mail with her.

"Hi" said Willow as she approached the blonde girl.

"H… Hi" said the girl, "I…. I've seen you in the group, but not for the pa.. past few weeks."

"Yeah" said Willow, "I've had some things come up. I really haven't had the time to take part in the Wicca group meetings."

"Oh" said the girl as she looked around nervously, "we… well, I.. I should get going."

"Ummm.." said Willow as she grabbed the girl's hand, "wait, ummm….. I'm actually not doing anything now. If you're not busy, or anything.. would you like to grab a tea.. or coffee or something? I mean if you're not doing anything."

"Who… me?" asked the girl.

"Yeah" smiled Willow, "I'm not talking to anyone else."

"Umm… o… ok" smiled the girl, "I…. I… would like that."

"Great" said Willow, "oh, where's my manners… I'm Willow, Willow Rosenberg."

"Hi… hi" said the girl as she looked at the floor before looking back up at Willow, "I… I'm Tara, Tara Maclay."

"Well, Tara" said a smiling Willow, "you know the Espresso Pump?"

"Yea" said Tara, "but I'm not sure how to get there. I don't really know the city that well."

"No problem" said Willow as she pointed towards her room, "I actually need to take a shower and then we could go together, I mean if you don't mind waiting that is."

"I… I don't mind" smiled Tara, "I… I'll wait here for you."

"Cool" smiled Willow as she turned around and ran up the stairs.

**Sunnydale General Hospital, Special Wing, that same time.**

"Hello" said Joyce as she walked up to the lady at reception with a vase full of flowers, "I'm looking for Faith Lehane's room."

"Are you a relative?" asked the woman at reception.

"No" said Joyce, "but she's a friend of the family. Truthfully though, she doesn't really have a family other than myself. I have been out of town for awhile and I only recently heard from my daughter about what happened to Faith, so that's why I'm here to visit here."

"Right" said the woman as she handed Joyce a piece of paper, "please fill in your particulars."

"Sure" said Joyce as she put the vase on the table before she filled out the piece of paper.

"Nice flowers" said the receptionist.

"Thank you" replied Joyce as she signed her name before handing the paper back to the woman.

"She's down the hall, fifth door to the left" said the receptionist as she looked at the piece of paper before she looked up at Joyce, "enjoy your visit, Mrs. Summers."

"Thanks" said Joyce as she picked up the vase and walked towards Faith's room.

As she was walking, Joyce failed to notice the strange look that the receptionist was giving her as she walked away. If Joyce had turned around, she would have noticed the receptionist hurriedly picking up a phone from her pocket and worriedly dialling a number.

"I need to talk to Mr. Travers" said the receptionist as she watched Joyce reach the room, then open the door and enter the room with Faith, "no, this is urgent. I've just had the mother of the Slayer, Buffy Summers visit Faith Lehane. Please advice on the next course of action."

While the receptionist was waiting for Mr. Travers to come onto the line, Joyce was placing the vase of flowers on the side table next to Faith's bed. Joyce then grabbed a chair and placed it next to Faith's bed. Before she sat down, Joyce just stood over Faith and ran her hands through the brunette's hair. Seeing that her hair seemed out of place, she swept the Slayer's hair back and away from her face. That was when Joyce saw the bruises and the scars that were on Faith's upper torso and face.

"Oh, Faith" said Joyce to herself as she caressed the brunettes cheeks before she sat down next to the bed.

"I don't know if you remember me, Faith" said Joyce, "I'm Mrs. Summers… Joyce…. You know, Buffy's mom."

Joyce looked at the machines that measured her brain activity but it was still running flat, with no discernable peaks anywhere, indicating that she had no brain activity.

"You know" smiled Joyce as she turned back to look at Faith, "I don't know if you can hear me, but I sure hope you can… I mean I heard that coma patients can hear people talking.. so I really hope that you can hear me. Honestly, I don't know what to say…. I mean…. What do you say to someone who's in a coma?"

Joyce then got up and paced around the room before she stopped and smiled at Faith. She then walked towards her and pulled up her chair directly next to Faith and held her hand tightly.

"Something amazing happened Faith" said Joyce, "I found out that there are other realities out there in the universe. Its not really that great of a news for me since in one of them I actually died…. Damn, I can't believe I died. Anyway, three people came to this reality through a special device. They included an alternate version of Willow. I couldn't believe it, she's like the one you and I know, but still I could see a difference. She was tough, a fighter, confident in herself and caring about others. Another person who came through was my daughter. I know what you're thinking, Buffy is my daughter; but apparently I had another daughter in that reality. Her name is Dawn, and she's brave and beautiful just like Buffy. And the third person, the third person was an alternate version of you, Faith."

Joyce squeezed Faith's hand as she lay another hand on her forehead.

"I made her a promise Faith" said Joyce, "I made the alternate version of yourself a promise. I promised that I'd look after you while you were in this coma, that I'd look after you after you wake up. You don't need to worry, just know that there will be someone watching out for you and waiting for you to wake up. But, there are something's I need answered too. Something's that the alternate Willow said, about an accident and a murder. I guess I could wait to ask you when you wake up but… I want you to be completely honest with me. I need for you to trust me. Don't push me away when you wake up, I want to look after you… I want to take care of you and Buffy. I'll come visit you every week and bring fresh flowers for you. I really don't know what flowers you like… maybe you can tell me when you wake up… but in the meantime I hope you like these."

**The Espresso Pump, Sunnydale, 1400hours.**

"So" said Willow as she sat across from the shy Tara, "how long have you been practising?"

"My entire life" said Tara as she looked down at the table before she looked at Willow, "my.. my mother had a lot of power… kind of like you."

"Oh" said Willow in surprise, "I… well.. I mean… I don't really have that much power. I mean…"

"But you do" smiled Tara nervously, "I can feel it."

"I see" said Willow, "I'm trying not to use it too much… I mean I used to be carefree in using magic but something recently happened to me that make me rethink all of that.."

"Oh" said Tara, "did… I mean.. is that why you stopped coming for the Wicca group?"

"Kinda" said Willow, "I mean…. I met someone who showed me what it would be like to live a life without magic. I just wanted to give that a try, but so far I've gone about a week without using."

"Oh" said Tara, "that… that's good."

"It is?" asked Willow surprised.

"Yes" smiled Tara nervously as she nodded her head, "my mother used to tell me that magic itself can be extremely addictive if you're not careful, which is why I don't use it that much as well… I mean unless I absolutely have to."

"You know" said Willow as she leaned forwards towards Tara, "usually I would have wanted to try out a few spells… but instead… would you like to have dinner or something? I mean as a friend… its not a date or anything.. I mean unless you want it to be a date… well to be honest with you I just got out of a relationship so… you know what I mean?"

"I… I…" said Tara as she started to laugh, "I… think that you're babbling."

"Yeah" said Willow as she scratched her head nervously, "I tend to do that."

"Din.. dinner would actually be nice" said Tara as she smiled at Willow.

"Great" said Willow as she sipped her tea.

"It is" replied Tara.

"So it's a date" said Willow as she suddenly shook her head, "I mean not a date date… just a dinner date… you know…. Aiii."

"Yes" smiled Tara, "I know."

"There's something else I should tell you" said Willow as she placed her hands on the table, "I wont be here for too long."

"What… what do you mean?" asked Tara surprised.

"I've been offered a place at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs" said Willow, "and I've accepted it…. Although a couple of friends of mine still haven't accepted my decision. I just wanted you to know before…. I mean…. Would it be presumptuous of me to think that eventually the both of us could be more than friends one day, even after a bad break up?"

"W… well…" said Tara nervously, "I… I… I'd just like to say congratulations first… and…. well, I mean…."

"Right" said Willow, "I'm sorry, sometimes I just get too excited and…."

"No" said Tara as she grabbed Willow's hand to the surprise of both of them, "I…. I… don't think it's presumptuous or anything like that… maybe we can take it one day at a time. Who knows, maybe I'll decide to come to attend the University of Colorado there. I hear they have a good Art History programme…. Unless that's a bit too creepy. I mean.. if we hit it off that is…. Even if we don't.. its kind of nice to have a friend… I don't really know anyone here."

"No" said Willow as she smiled at Tara, "it's not creepy, I… I actually think that kinda sweet…. You know."

"So" said Tara as she raised her cup of tea, "one…. One day at a time?"

"One day at a time" smiled Willow as she raised her cup as well and clinked it with Tara's, "one day at a time."

**Giles' Apartment, 1500 hours.**

"Giles" said Buffy as she walked into her former watchers house, "I want you to stop."

"Good afternoon to you too, Buffy" said Giles as he closed the door after Buffy walked into his home and put her bag on his couch.

"Yea" said Buffy, "listen, I need you to stop."

"Stop what?" asked Giles, unsure about what Buffy was talking about.

"Stop training Willow" said Buffy, "Mom was excited about you training her in preparation for going to the Academy. I need you to stop, tell her you're busy or something."

"Why?" asked Giles as he went into the kitchen to get a drink.

"Because I don't want her to go" said Buffy, "your training is encouraging her even more, Xander and I talked about it and we agree that you need to stop training her. You should do the responsible thing and try to convince her that its dangerous to join the military, especially after what happened to her."

"Buffy" said Giles, "its not your decision to make, neither is it Xander's. Willow made the decision to attend the Academy because that's what she wants to do."

"But she's not ready" said Buffy, "she's Willow, she's never fought before on her own."

"Buffy" said Giles, "she can fight, I've been training her to fight and she's improved vastly over the past week. You should see her train."

"She'll be killed out there" said Buffy as tears came to the eyes, "I don't want to lose my best friend, don't you understand."

"I understand, Buffy" said Giles, "that why I'm training her, that's why she's going with my support, Anya's support and Joyce's support. She needs yours and Xander's support too. She knows the dangers that could come her way, I already talked to her about it but she thinks that this is a fantastic opportunity for her. Do you really want to take that away from her?"

"But I'll be losing my best friend" said Buffy as she sat down on the couch and sobbed into her hands.

"You're not losing Willow" said Giles, "I read up on the Academy website."

It was then that Buffy raised her head and looked at Giles.

"Fine" said Giles, "I asked Willow to show me the website."

"Right" said Buffy, "and?"

"It said that cadets need support from home" said Giles as he sat next to Buffy, "we have to give her our emotional support through phone calls, emails or even the normal mail which I maintain is still better that that monster of electronic mail."

"Giles" said Buffy.

"She needs us" said Giles quietly, "especially after what happened to her, she needs our support more than ever."

"I don't know if I can" said Buffy quietly.

"Come see her train one day, Buffy" said Giles, "and then you can see how she takes care of herself. When she puts her mind to it, she can achieve anything she wants. And she really wants this. I have a feeling that the Air Force will be lucky to have her. And you should be proud of her for doing this, its not easy leaving everyone you know and love and heading to a totally different situation."

"I know how that feels" said Buffy quietly, "I left all my friends and came to Sunnydale, remember?"

"I know" said Giles, "and you had support her to help you through that transition. Now Willow needs our support from here. According to her, she's made friends with one of the officers who saved her from being kidnapped. She told me that this Carter person is extremely intelligent and one of the foremost people in Astrophysics. She said she wants to get into engineering at the Academy. Willow is excited but she still needs you and Xander. If you don't support her, it would be like you're giving up on her. Is that how you want her to remember you?"

"No" said Buffy, "No, I don't…. but… I'm scared."

"Don't be" said Giles, "come by tomorrow, Willow's coming for training. See her…. she'd also like some pointers from you just so you know."

"Alright" said Buffy as she wiped her tears, "I'll come and see her train with you."

"Good" said Giles, "now, I have some leftover Moussaka. Can I interest you some?"

"Ummm…" said Buffy as she got up, "nah,. It's alright. Not really feel up to having any mousse right now. I guess I better get going, I have class in an hour or so."

"Alright" smiled Giles as Buffy opened the door and walked out of the apartment.

Giles walked up and shut the door as he thought to himself, 'Be there for her, she'll need the both of you for this transition.'

TBC.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter of The Aftermath is related to events that occurred in Chapter 94 of AEM. Hope you enjoy.

**Tara's Dorm Room, U.C. Sunnydale, two months later, 2000 hours.**

It had been two months since Willow accepted the offer to join the Air Force Academy, her decision was complete once she had spoken to Major Carter. She had apologized to the redhead for being out of contact for so long, but explained that she and the others were off-world on another planet for negotiations on some mineral Willow heard was important, something the Major called Trinium. In their talks, the Major had told Willow that life in the Stargate Program wouldn't be easy, and that she still had to work hard at the Academy. Willow had told her she wanted to, she even bet the Major that she could beat the awards she received when she was at the Academy.

"Oh?" said the Major pleasantly surprised, "really?"

"Yep" grinned Willow, "hundred bucks?"

"Make it two hundred" said the Major with a wide grin as she looked up from a piece of technology in her lab, "make it two hundred, and….. lunch."

"Alright then" said Willow, "we have a deal."

"Great" laughed the Major.

Willow smiled as she remembered the conversation between the both of them, and just before they each put down the phones… the Major invited Willow to the SGC so that she could look around the complex; give her extra motivation to work as hard as possible while she was attending the Academy, which the redhead accepted gladly.

Soon, Willow turned to her left and looked into the face of the sleeping blonde next to her. She just smiled as she lay her head on her pillow and moved a lock of hair that was covering Tara's face and moved it behind her ear. Willow then put her arm around the blonde's waist and pulled her towards her, which unsurprisingly woke her up.

"Hey" smiled a groggy Tara as she looked into Willow's green eyes, "someone's frisky this night, again…. You do realize that we haven't even left the bed since you finished your last class this afternoon?"

"Sorry" said Willow sheepishly, "I thought we were going for the whole 'I'm going away so I need to have as many smoochies as possible' kind of a day? Also, I was going for the cool pull and then kiss, but I guess that's not happening."

"You sure?" smirked Tara while raising an eyebrow, "you did pull me, and here's the kiss."

Tara kissed Willow deeply before the both of them moved away, trying to catch their breath.

Willow caressed Tara's cheeks as she remembered their whirlwind romance; after that first date, they had gone out multiple times and the both of them got to know each other as people… instead of how practised the other was in witchcraft. It was the second fact that impressed Tara the most and, at the same time, endeared Willow to her. Tara had no idea what really happened to Willow, at least for the time being, to stop using magic…but she was heavily impressed. Tara recalled telling Willow that the redhead was powerful… that she could sense Willow's power within her. But Willow had shrugged it off saying that there could be another ways to get things done, and that she wanted to explore those options.

"You ready for tomorrow?" asked Tara as she caressed Willow's cheeks.

"Yeah" said Willow with a twinge of regret showing on her face, "I'll be leaving at nine in the morning. Mrs. Summers, Buffy and I have a tour of the Academy and then that woman I told you about, Sam, she'll be showing me the work she does in NORAD for Deep Space Radar Telemetry."

"Sounds fun" said Tara as she smiled at Willow, "so you'll be watching the stars?"

"Yeah" said Willow excitedly as she recalled the cover story that Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill insisted she follow, "I'll be working on space telescopes, satellites, it's all going to be so fun."

"I bet" laughed Tara, "but, I'll miss you."

"Why don't you come with me?" asked Willow, "I mean come with us."

"Bu… but you haven't told your fri… friend's about me" said Tara, suddenly nervous.

"I know" said Willow with pain in her eyes, "and I'm sorry. It's just that I don't want to share you with anyone… I know it sounds selfish but, I mean… "

"It's alright" said Tara, "I know it's not easy to… you know.. come out to your friends and…."

"Hold on" said Willow as she reached over Tara for her phone, "can I make a call?"

"Sure" said Tara confused.

Grabbing the landline, Willow dialled a number on the receiver whilst she lay on top of a grinning Tara who started to kiss her neck.

"Ummmm…. Mrs. Summers?" said Willow as Tara playfully bit her neck, "yeah…. This….. umm…. This is Willow. Yea… I'm alright…. I… I was just.. hey.."

Willow looked down at a grinning Tara who had just bit her nipple before the redhead quickly got back on the phone.

"Sorry about that Mrs. Summers" said Willow as Tara began her assault again, "I…. I… well… umm…. Pulled a muscle… and… that feels good…. No, I mean it hurts.. yeah.. it hurts. Anyway… well.. I was wondering if…. If…my girlfriend could come with us tomorrow?"

Upon hearing the word girlfriend, Tara immediately stopped what she was doing and looked up at Willow who was looking back at the blonde witch with a smile on her face.

"Yeah" said Willow, "my girlfriend…. Her name is Tara."

Tara looked up at Willow as the redhead's smile turned into a grin, "thanks, Mrs. Summers…. I know you and Buffy will like her. She's so cool. Dinner? Tonight? Sure… I've already gotten everything packed so we can move tomorrow morning. And thanks for being so cool about it… yeah, we'll see you tonight."

"You… you really did it" said Tara as she put her arms around Willow's waist while the redhead placed the phone back on its cradle, "you really told them about us."

"I told you I would" said Willow as she lay her head in the crook of Tara's neck, "Mrs. Summers was surprised, but she wants to meet you. She invited us to dinner, so… please come?"

"Of course" smiled Tara.

"Sweet" grinned Willow as she got up and looked down at Tara, "and now, I'll have my revenge on you… you vixen."

"Stop" laughed Tara as Willow started to tickle her, "not fair…."

"Never" said a laughing Willow, "I plan on having much more fun with you before dinner."

"So" said Tara, "not leaving the bed then?"

'Never" grinned Willow as she leaned down and kissed her girlfriend.

**The Summers Residence, 2045 hours.**

Joyce was smiling from ear to ear as she bent down to check on the roast she had prepared for dinner, the last dinner that all of them would be having for sometime as Willow would be leaving for Colorado Springs the next morning. Joyce had always suspected that Willow was dating someone after her bad breakup with Oz, but she never expected that it would be with another girl. However, she was extremely happy for the redhead.

'After Oz, after the attempted kidnapping and murder' thought Joyce to herself as she checked on the potatoes and the green bean casserole, 'Willow needs this, she needs to get out of Sunnydale… and what's better than a new girlfriend and a fantastic job that's waiting for her after graduation."

As Joyce walked to the living room, she noticed Buffy sitting at the table just looking at her laptop.

"Hey sweetie" said Joyce as she approached Buffy, "what are you looking at?"

"Giles kept on hounding me to go through the Air Force academy website" said Buffy, "so that's what I'm finally doing."

"Buffy" said Joyce as she stood next to her daughter, "please be happy for Willow. This is important for her.. a chance to make something off herself… and she thinks that the academy can help her do that."

"That's the thing" said Buffy as she leaned back, "everyone's been saying how good this is for Willow, that she needs this… that she has to make her own choices. But I'm stuck here…. I didn't have a choice on being the Slayer, no one told me that this is a good thing… all Giles and others have been telling me is that being the Slayer is my destiny…. Willow gets to be free and I'm a prisoner to my so-called destiny."

"Oh sweetie" said Joyce as she hugged Buffy when she heard the door bell ringing.

Joyce hurried to the door and opened it to reveal Giles, Xander and Anya standing on the porch.

"Mrs. Summers" said Xander as he waved at Joyce, "sorry we're late, Anya had some… well, she couldn't find anything good to wear."

"Come on" said Anya looking at Xander, "it's the last day we'll be spending with Willow, I should try and make myself as presentable as possible, right?"

"Don't remind me" mumbled Xander. It had taken a lot of convincing, but Giles and Joyce had finally gotten Xander to understand that Willow is really interested in joining the Air Force, that leaving Sunnydale would be a good thing for her and that in the long run, it would even strengthen the bond that he, Willow and Buffy share.

It had taken a fight he had with Anya though for him to see some sense into what Willow was doing.

"You need to grow up" shouted Anya at Xander, "the both of you aren't children anymore."

"No, we're not!" Xander had shouted, "stop treating me like one, I just think that I should go where Willow goes, she needs protection, Anya."

"That's a childish way of thinking and you know it!" shouted Anya, "she's ready to grow up, but you're still that little kid who thinks that just because his best friend is leaving, she doesn't care or love you anymore."

'Ahn" said Xander.

"Are you going to follow Willow everywhere she goes?" asked Anya, "what if she goes overseas and I don't, what will you do then?"

"Ahn" said Xander, "it's not the same."

"It's precisely the same" said Anya, "you're so willing to go everywhere Willow goes, that you didn't even bother to think if I wanted to go."

"Ahn" said Xander.

"No" said Anya, "don't Ahn, me… would you go to Colorado if I didn't go? It's a damn easy question."

"Don't ask me to choose between you two" said Xander as he sat down defeated.

"I'm not asking you to choose" said Anya in a soft voice as she finally sat down in front of Xander and held his hand gently, "you're free to go with her if you want, I'll let you go…"

"Ahn" said Xander.

"Let me finish" said Anya, "I do love you, maybe you love Willow more than me… I'll never know. And I meant it when I said that you're free to go with her… I won't stop you. But what I'm saying is whether you should. Xander, do you think you should? Don't you think it's time to be an adult, live your life… find a job….. you're good with your hands, have you even thought about being a carpenter? Or in construction? Maybe its time to live your life, instead of always following others."

"But…" said Xander as Anya interrupted her.

"You guys will still be best friends no matter what, Xander" said Anya as she kissed him on his forehead and got up, "I'll be heading to Joyce's house for the dinner, would you come with me? I want to say goodbye to Willow, but I don't want to do it alone."

In the present time, Xander, Anya and Buffy were looking at the computer screen behind Buffy as she searched through the Air Force Academy website.

"See" said Anya, "you guys can visit her after her basic training on Saturdays and Sundays, we can visit her every month or even twice a month. And look, she can invite us to events at the academy."

"It's still not the same" said Buffy as she lay her head on her hand while scrolling through the screen.

"Buffy" said Giles as he came out of the kitchen, "have you checked the website?"

"Yeah" said Buffy, "Giles, I appreciate everything you're doing to make me feel better but…."

Before Buffy could finish talking, there was a knock on the door and thanks to her Slayer hearing, she could tell that it was Willow with another girl.

"Willow" said Joyce as she opened the door and then looked at the blonde girl next to her, "hi, and this would be the mysterious girl you told me about?"

"Yes, Mrs. Summers" said Willow proudly, "this is my girlfriend, Tara."

"H… hi" said Tara nervously, "Tara.. Tara Maclay."

"Nice to meet you, Tara" smiled Joyce as she moved to the side, "why don't the both of you come in, dinner is almost ready."

"Th.. thanks" said Tara as she stepped into the house, followed by Willow who saw the others looking at the new arrival from the small space behind the living room.

"I want you to meet my friends" smiled Willow as Tara nodded her head and gently pulled her towards Giles and the others.

"Buffy" said Willow as she approached the blonde, "I want you to meet my girlfriend, Tara."

"Huh?" said a surprised Buffy, "girlfriend? Oh… Oh…. Wait… girlfriend? I didn't know… I mean.. girlfriend… wow."

"I… I think I should go" said Tara as she turned around while Willow looked at Buffy with her eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"Wait" said Buffy as she gently grabbed Tara's hand, "don't go, I'm sorry… the both of you.. it's just that… well… this is a surprise… a good surprise… but a surprise. Anyway, before I put my foot in my mouth again, I'm Buffy. The people behind me with the mouths wide open are Xander, Anya and Giles."

"Hi" said Tara as she gave them a little wave.

"Hi" said Anya as she rushed forward, "I'm Anya, your friendly neighbourhood vengeance demon… anyway, if Willow does anything to…"

"Hey!" said Willow as she playfully slapped Anya's arm, "not funny."

"You… you're a demon?" asked Tara as she stepped back a little before looking at Willow, "Will… Willow?"

"It's ok" said Willow as she ran to Tara, "she's good….. well, usually when she's not so horny and decides to tell everyone what she does to Xander."

"Will" said Xander as his face turned into a bright shade of red.

"Guys" said Willow, "Tara's not only my girlfriend, but she's a powerful witch."

"Wi… wicca actually" said Tara as she nodded her head.

"Neat" said Buffy, "I'm the Slayer."

"Slayer?" asked Tara, "as in the one who fights vampires and monsters?"

"Yep" said Buffy, "you know, all that destiny crap."

"Buffy" said Giles.

"It's true" said Buffy shrugging her shoulders, "apparently it's so much of an important destiny that I can't live my own life, you know… I can't cut loose, I can't do what I want… go where I want…. I'm stuck here. But then again, I'm glad that Willow's able to do that. Maybe she can live it for the both of us. In the meantime, I'll fight the things that keep on coming after us…. Yup, that's what I'll continue to do with the support of my friends."

"Buffy!" said Giles as he looked at the hurt on Willow's face.

"No" said Buffy as she looked at Willow, "I didn't mean it in a bad way…. I mean it's good that you're leaving you know, and you know you're my best friend no matter what."

"You sure made it sound bad" said Willow softly as she looked at Buffy before looking at Tara, "maybe we should go, let me just say goodbye to Mrs. Summers."

"Willow" said Tara as she walked towards the redhead just before she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

"What the hell?" said Xander as he pointed towards the living room, causing Giles, Anya and Tara to turn around and gasp at the sight before them. Upon hearing Xander's shout, Willow and Joyce ran into the living room where they looked in shock at the figure of a heavily injured Willow standing on the carpet in their living room.

"Captain?" said Willow as she walked towards the other Willow and tried to help her stop the bleeding, but she couldn't do a single thing as her hands kept going through the Captain's body.

"Captain?" said Joyce as she looked at her Willow's doppelganger and noticed a heavily bleeding left arm, a swollen right arm with the hand scarred with heavy burn marks. Looking closely she saw that her eyes were cloudy and that her lips were already blue.

"Mom?" said Buffy confused as she saw two Willow's in her house, "what's going on?"

"You're not from here, are you?" asked Anya as she walked towards the bleeding Willow and looked into her eyes, "you're from another reality."

"Captain?" asked Buffy confused, "mom, what's going on? Why? I mean….."

"It's easy to break the barriers between realities when you're near death" said the bleeding Willow as she looked at the group standing behind Willow and Anya, "where am I?"

"Willow" said Joyce, "you're in the reality where you saved…. Well, yourself… remember?"

"Right" said Willow, "I guess it really is true….. when the mind is enlightened, the body matters not. I thought all of that stuff in Daniel's report was a bunch of hoky. But then again, I'm not really enlightened."

"Huh?" said Buffy.

"Hold on here" said Giles as he looked at both the Willow's, "this isn't possible, no spell was cast for this…"

"She's the one who saved my life" said Willow as she walked towards the bleeding Willow.

"Wait" said Xander, "I thought you said it was the Air Force who saved your life."

"She was there" said Willow as she looked at the state of her alternate self, "she saved me."

"Sorry" said Major Willow as she looked at her doppelganger, "I just made your life a bit more complicated, but I had to give you a message…. And…"

"You said you are near death" said Giles, "where are you?"

"In space" said Major Willow as Giles looked on surprised, "floating outside a satellite, it nearly destroyed our ship…. I… I think I disabled it, but I don't know if they can get me back in time."

"Willow" said Joyce.

"At least the crew will be safe" said Major Willow looking at Joyce, "at least that's what I'm hoping for."

"Willow" said Tara.

"Hi Tara" said Willow as she started to shiver, "I can feel my blood boiling… it's a strange feeling."

"Captain" said Willow, "let me call Colonel O'Neill, maybe he can help you."

"My body's almost dying" said Major Willow, "almost hitting a minute in space without a suit."

"Without a suit?" asked Tara, "that would mean.."

"There wasn't time" said Major Willow, "there isn't time to explain further now."

"What's the message" said Willow.

"Willow" said the Major, "years from now, we'll….. our friends… the people I hope you'll eventually work with, will be faced with a choice…. Stop Daniel from putting the stone into the device… do you understand me? No matter what… stop anyone from conducting research into the device."

"No" said Willow shaking her head, "you said you're in space…."

"Dying" said the bleeding Willow as her alternate and the others looked on in shock, "listen to me whatever happens, the Ori need to be prevented from getting to your galaxy in your reality… tell… tell.. "

"Captain" said Willow as the Major started to vanish slowly.

"They beamed me on-board" said the bleeding Willow as she sighed, "they just made it on time.. phew."

"Beamed?" asked Xander as Willow looked back at him and frowned before turning back to the Major.

"Captain" said Willow, "who are the Ori?"

"Major" said the bleeding Willow, "I'm a Major now… but remember what I said, you and the others may find a device years down the road…. It's a blueish black, oval shaped object with a blue crystal on top. Whatever you do, prevent Daniel and Vala from putting the stones into the machine."

"But…." Said Willow as Tara stepped closer to Major Willow and put her hands right through the apparition.

"This is weird" said Tara.

"We're in a new war, Willow" said Major Willow, "we've already suffered massive losses, don't let the same thing happen in your reality…. swear it."

"O… ok" said Willow.

"I don't know how long this galaxy can hold out" said Major Willow, "I trust you to tell the others, don't let this happen there."

"I.. I will" said Willow as Major Willow slowly started to disappear.

"One last message" said Willow, "I need you to write this down; P6Y-382. Do you understand me, should anything ever happen…. Just bring that number to Colonel Carter. P6Y-382…. Write it down. It's called Edina."

"But" said Buffy as she wrote down the number, "what is it?"

"She'll know" said Major Willow as she looked at her doppelganger, "when it's time, she'll know what that combination, and that name, represents."

"I… I gotta go" said Major Willow as she looked up and then behind her, "I can sense them operating on my arm, I'm under atmosphere now… should be alright. Need to get back to Faith."

"You guys doing alright?" asked Willow as she stepped towards Major Willow.

"Yes" said Willow as she vanished, "we're getting married."

Willow watched as her doppelganger vanished completely as she felt a tear fall down her cheek and she turned around and looked at her surprised friends.

"Willow" said Joyce as she walked towards Willow, "she saved everyone, and she's alive… she said so."

"I know" replied the redhead as she wiped a tear.

"Seriously" said Buffy, "what was that?"

"Willow, Joyce" said Giles, "I think we're owed an explanation about what just happened here."

"You take a seat, alright?" said Joyce as she ignored Giles, "I'll call the number Colonel O'Neill gave me for emergencies.

"No" said Willow, "it's my responsibility to call him, let me."

"Alright" said Joyce as Willow walked over to the kitchen before she looked back at Giles and the others, explaining to them that she and Willow will explain everything once Willow has talked to Colonel O'Neill.

Tara looked at Willow while everyone else was hounding Joyce. She walked into the kitchen while Willow was on the phone, her back turned to the blonde witch. Tara then wrapped her arms around Willow's waist while she was talking to Colonel O'Neill explaining what had just happened, and pulled her backwards, closer to her. They remained that way even after Willow had put the phone down, but Willow knew that things had changed again… that she had to explain some of the things that happened to her. All she knew was that, seeing her alternate again reaffirmed her goal of what she wanted to do… she would still go to the Air Force Academy tomorrow, no matter what.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Kitchen, The Summers residence, 1805hours.**

Tara had been quietly holding on to Willow's waist and brought the red head closer to her until her back was squeezed gently against the blonde's body. Tara watched as Willow put down the phone on the island, before she put her head on Willow's shoulder, and the redhead put her head on the blonde's head. It was true that she was surprised by what had happened in the living room when she saw the bleeding, older Willow… the one her Willow had called Captain… 'or was it Major' she thought to herself. Either way, this was something that she never expected from someone she was starting to have deep feelings for, but it wasn't something that was bad. Tara sensed that whatever had happened to Willow, whatever had happened for her to give up magic had something to do with the other Willow. And as if she was reading Tara's mind, Willow sighed and turned around to face the blonde.. her hands still around her waist.

"Something happened to me Tara" said Willow softly while she kept on hearing the others trying to convince Joyce to tell them what was going on. Willow heard the older blonde woman tell Buffy and the others that it was Willow's story to tell, and they should wait for her… and support her no matter what. Willow heard Buffy and Xander say something before Joyce interjected, telling the both of them in unequivocal terms that they had to sit down and be patient.

"You told me" said Tara as Willow looked back at the blonde witch, after she had glanced at what was happening in the living room, "something happened that made you stop magic, you said that you met someone who showed you what it was like living a life without magic."

"Yea" said Willow softly.

"Was it her?" asked Tara as she nodded at the living room.

"Yea" said Willow, "she made me see that I could have a future out of Sunnydale, away from the Hellmouth, away from magic."

"Because that's what you feared?" asked Tara, "whether you'd have a future outside Sunnydale?"

"Yea" said Willow with a smile, "you know me so well."

"You don't have to tell us, you know" said Tara.

"I called the man who I hope will be my future Commanding Officer, he said I tell part of the whole story" said Willow, "Tara, if I do this.. there'll be a lot of secrets I'll have to keep from you. Are you alright with that?"

"Are they secrets that absolutely have to be kept?" asked Tara quietly.

"Yea" said Willow, "I'll understand if that's a deal breaker between us and…."

"Hey" said Tara as she caressed Willow's cheek, "I understand, I'm ok with it…. I… I care about you and I… I just want you to be sure that this is what you want to do."

"It's kinda unbelievable" said Willow.

"I just saw your ghostly bleeding and swollen duplicate" said Tara with a smirk, "how bad can it be."

"Oh" said Willow, "it's a real doozy all right."

"'Sides" smirked Tara, "the older you in an uniform was kind of hot."

"Hey!" yelped Willow as Tara pinched her waist before she whispered into the blonde's ear, "wait till tonight, I'll get you for that."

"Oh you better" grinned Tara, "you ready?"

"Yeah" said Willow as she held Tara's hand and walked into the living room to face everyone.

**Living Room, the Summers Residence, 1910 hours.**

Joyce was seated on the sofa in uncomfortable silence as Giles sat on a chair with his hands together, playing with his thumbs, Anya was circling around the area where the other Willow had been earlier, Xander was looking out the window with is face reflecting a look of uncertainty that was eating away at him, while Buffy was leaning against the fireplace rubbing her temples trying to make sense of what just happened.

"Mom" said Buffy, "that was Willow… Willow.. she looked horrible… she…."

"Buffy" said Joyce, "I've told you before, this is Willow's story to tell."

"Joyce" said Giles as he looked up at Joyce, "what just happened… I know there wasn't a spell…. I know I didn't do a spell and Willow hasn't been using magic for over two months now. But whoever, is using magic… it's pretty powerful to come up with something like that."

"She was from another reality" said Anya nodding her head as Xander turned around to face them, "I know that much. I could see it in her eyes… but there was something else as well... something you see in someone who's known battle. It's the same with Buffy, but…"

"But?" asked Buffy as she looked up at Anya.

"It's like she's been through hell" said Anya as she shrugged her shoulders, "at least that's what I could tell. NO idea about what she was talking about though. Ori? I mean, what the heck is that? But I don't think that was a spell."

"Anya" said Xander, "Giles is right, you didn't do a spell…. Remember the vampire Willow, she came here because of a spell you and Willow did. I agree that maybe someone in town is trying to play us… and I say we go after them. Buffy?"

"We don't know where to start" said Buffy, "unless Willow gives us something to go on, it could be another witch who sensed that Willow's not using her magics, maybe she or he, thinks that they can come after her with that trick."

"It's none of that" said Willow who walked into the living room hand-in-hand with Tara and looked at everyone, "it wasn't another witch, or anything supernatural… that was really me from an alternate reality."

"Willow" said Giles as he stood up, "that's not possible, travel between realities is not only dangerous.. but without the right magic in place, impossible. You of all people should know that."

"That's what I thought at first too" said Willow, "but it's not, Giles. Nothing's impossible, you taught me that."

"Did you talk to Colonel O'Neill?" asked Joyce, and smiled when Willow nodded her head, "maybe you should start?"

"About two and a half months ago" said Willow as she looked at Tara who squeezed her hand, and then looked at the others, "I was nearly kidnapped by a secret organization that experimented on demons, vampires and monsters."

"You mean the Initiative?" asked Giles, "the ones that Spike…. The now neutered Spike was talking about?"

"Yes" said Willow, "they tried to kidnap me after class, Riley was the one sent to do it by Walsh because he was closer to me.. and that I trusted him. But he didn't succeed; I was rescued by a team from the Air Force, one of whom was me from an alternate reality."

"Willow" said Giles as everyone, even Tara looked on surprised, "that's not possible."

"She used an alien device" said Willow, "and…."

"Wait" said Xander, "alien? Seriously? Look Will, you know how much I wish that aliens were real… that Roswell really happened, or that one day I get anally probed…"

At that, Xander found that everyone was looking at him and he stepped back, "forget the last part.. but still, Will."

"She's right" said Joyce as everyone looked at her, "I should know."

"Mom?" asked Buffy, "what are you talking about?"

"Colonel O'Neill told me what happened after Willow's counterpart and the other Air Force officers took down the Initiative" said Joyce, "but before that, he told me that a total of three people came through the device."

"They called it a Quantum Mirror" said Willow as she looked at Tara, "a piece of highly advanced alien technology. My duplicate…. Major Willow, described it as a window into other realities… you touch the glass, and you're transported there immediately. I've read about the multiverse theory, and this technology…. It proves that theory. Can you imagine, billions.. or even more realities out there. All because of a piece of alien tech."

"Willow" said Giles, "aliens? You know how that sounds?"

"Demons? Vampires? Monsters? Slayers? Hellmouths? Witches?" said Willow as she looked at Giles, "if they exist Giles, how can you say that there aren't aliens out there?"

"Willow" said Anya softly as she touched the redhead's arm, "the one we just saw was older than you, I could tell."

"It's something to do with quantum theory" said Willow, "not every reality runs at the same speed, this one is slower than hers…. Basically this reality is her past. She told me another one where she went to a future reality where…"

"Willow?" asked Tara.

"Where a me from that reality travelled to her reality through a quantum mirror to kill her" said Willow as everyone looked on shocked, including Joyce.

"Willow" said Joyce, "you never told me that."

"The other me never joined the Air Force" said Willow as she avoided looking at Tara, "she blamed the Major for someone she loved dying."

"But she didn't succeed" said Giles.

"No" said Willow as she stared at an angry Buffy, "Buffy actually brushed past the Major."

"No I didn't" said Buffy, "I would have know that it was you."

"She was wearing a holographic disguise" said Willow, "remember that younger guy who came in with the older guy? The class a few days before Thanksgiving? Before the now neutered Spike 'joined' us, kept talking about commando's and some girl beating him up?"

"Oh" said Buffy, "but…."

"The reason they came after me" said Willow, "was because someone else had come through the Mirror earlier. Remember Spike told us that someone had beaten him."

"Yeah" said Buffy.

"She came here first" said Willow, "the alternate version of me came after her, to rescue her. Walsh and the other Initiative members saw her use her powers."

"Po… powers?" asked Tara, "I.. I thought you said she didn't use magic?"

"She didn't" said Willow as she looked at Tara, "she said that her abilities are genetic, and that she hasn't used magic for a long time. At first I was angry at her for leaving everyone in her reality, I wasn't sure why she'd do it… then she explained everything to me.. that she wanted to live her own life. She looked happy.. she loved what she was doing and…. and I wanted that…"

"Look" said Buffy, "Will, this is all a nice story and all but…"

"Willow" said Giles as he walked up to the redhead after he interjected Buffy, "if I had known about this earlier… look are you sure you're not doing this… I mean going to the Air Force for some other reason?"

"I thought you supported me?" asked Willow as she looked at Giles.

'I do" said Giles as he shook his head before taking off his glasses, "I mean, are you doing this for the right reasons? Are you doing this just to leave Sunnydale and live someone else's life?"

"Tell him what she showed you, Willow" said Joyce.

"What did she show you?" asked Giles confused.

"We were in the basement just talking" said Willow excitedly, "I asked her to tell me more about herself. Instead of talking, she put her hands on my head and showed me. Giles, she's a telepath… I lived her experiences. My God Giles, ships… she flew in ships.. planes.. some of the most advanced fighters the Earth has built.. and the battles, I felt her rush.. the excitement, even the heartbreak. But nothing beat her getting hands on new technology, Earth built or alien. It was awesome, Giles.. she worked hard to get where she is.. and I want to do the same too. This isn't about her Giles, she showed me what my potential could be… what I could become.. and I want that. I want to achieve what I'm capable of and I can't do that here, I can't do that in Sunnydale."

"But Will" said Xander, "you're still living someone else's life. It's not what you want to do, you know it's not."

"Xander" said Willow as she started to fight back tears, "how can you say that? You don't think I of all people deserve something different? Something more?"

"How about me, Will?" said Buffy as she stepped forward, "you think I don't want to get out of here and do something with my life? Why is it that you get to leave? Everyone's 'oh look, Willow had to get out because she has a future outside Sunnydale… yaaaay!' But what about me? I'm stuck here at the goddamn Hellmouth because some crappy destiny crap says that I'm the Slayer. Why do you get to go?"

"Buffy" said Joyce as she looked at her daughter, "enough."

"No, mom" said Buffy as she started to tear up, "this is bull and you know it. She would never be leaving if that other Willow never came here, she would still be here… still being at my side, and…."

"That's what this is about?" asked Willow, "you're upset because I'm trying to make a new life for myself? You're upset because I'm not going to be your sidekick anymore… cause let's admit that… I'm Buffy's sidekick… yaaay… I do all the 'Oracle' bits while you be Batman…. Is that what you're saying? That I'm better in research mode? That I've got no business doing anything else? That I have no right, to pursue a dream?"

"But you wouldn't have had this so called dream if she didn't come here!" shouted Buffy to the surprise of everyone, especially Joyce and Giles.

"You had a chance to leave!" shouted Willow as Tara looked on in surprise, "you had a chance to quit being the Slayer, there was Kendra… there was Faith… but nooooo, you had to continue, you had to be the Slayer. You had your chance to go to, where was it? Northwestern? But you didn't go… I stayed here for you… FOR YOU! and now that I want to leave, you're saying it's my fault? It's my counterpart's fault."

"Buffy… Willow" said Giles sternly, "that's enough."

"Buffy" said Joyce as she walked to her daughter, "the both of you have been best friends since we moved to Sunnydale, please don't say anything that the both of you would regret."

"Will" said Xander as he glanced at Buffy who was heading back to the fireplace mad, "we're just worried about you."

"I… I think we sho… should let Willow decide" said Tara as she gave a small smile to everyone.

"Tara" said Buffy as she looked at the blonde girl and held up her hands, "please, keep out of…."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Buffy" said Willow as she pointed her finger at the Slayer, "don't you dare."

"Will" said a suddenly surprised Buffy.

"All I asked for was support from you" said Willow as she pointed at Buffy, "my best friend, or at least someone I thought was my best friend… and Xander, who's supposedly my oldest friend."

"Will" said Xander, "I…."

"I… I'm leaving tomorrow" said Willow as she looked at Joyce who gave the redhead a small smile, "I was hoping tonight would be something that I could remember you all by, and it certainly has."

"Will" said Xander as he walked towards Willow and placed a hand on her shoulder. He was surprised though when she pulled back and Tara stood next to her protectively.

"Xander, Buffy" said Willow as she looked at her oldest fiend and the blonde Slayer, "I hope that eventually you support me, but I'm not changing my resolve to join the Air Force because you have no faith in me."

"It's not that, Willow" said Xander, "we're just…."

"Giles" said Willow as she ignored what Xander wanted to say, "thanks for your support from the very beginning, but please don't let this stuff about alien technology go to the Watcher's Council. This is none of their business or any of their concern."

"But if you need anything" said Giles as he walked over to Willow and hugged her, "you call me or Mrs. Summers."

"I will" said Willow as she kissed Giles' cheek, "thank you so much."

"We just want you to be careful" said Giles as Willow hugged him tightly before she nodded and stepped back before wiping a tear that went down her face.

"Anya" said Willow as she turned to, and tightly hugged, a very surprised vengeance demon, "I know we haven't seen eye to eye on a lot of things. But thanks… for supporting me."

"I'll make sure, Xander comes around" said Anya, "I'll probably have to withhold the sex and the spanking but it will happen."

"Too much information" said Willow as she smiled at Anya before turning to Tara and holding her hand tightly.

"Mrs. Summers" said Willow as she smiled at Tara before turning to face Buffy's mother, "I'll understand if you decide not to come with me tomorrow. I don't want to make it awkward for you, I just want to thank you for looking after me… you know, after that incident. I know you set a place for us at the table, but I think Tara and I should get home. I have an early morning."

"Willow, stay" said Joyce as she walked toward the redhead and looked at Buffy, "the both of you are best friends, disagreements like this will happen and it'll pass. Once day, when you're much older, the both of you will laugh at tonight's events."

"And it's after dark, Willow" said Giles, "stay for dinner, and I'll drive you, and Tara to the dorms… and Xander and Anya to Xander's house."

"Th.. That would be best, Willow" said Tara.

"Alright" said Willow as she nodded her head.

**The Summers Residence, 1950 hours.**

It had been twenty minutes after that argument that left a dark cloud hanging in the living room. Willow and Tara had gone out to sit in the backyard while looking up at the stars. Joyce smiled when she overheard the redhead pointing out star constellations to the blonde girl. She had a view of the living room from where she was standing but couldn't find Buffy standing or sitting at the couch. Instead, she had earlier heard her running up the stairs and shutting her door, while Xander was talking to Anya. While Joyce was in the kitchen preparing the meal, she had noticed that Giles had walked in and started to help her take out some plates and cutlery.

"Giles" said Joyce as she closed her eyes and leaned over the roast with both arms on the island as she suddenly looked exhausted, "if Buffy attends the Air Force Academy, will Faith be able to take over for her?"

"Faith?" said surprised Giles, "she's in a coma."

"I know" said Joyce, "when she wakes up, can she take over for Buffy?"

"Joyce" said Giles, "what's bringing this on? Let's forget the fact that Faith is a danger to herself, and others… she's also a rogue slayer who murdered two people, and worked with the Mayor to bring about an apocalypse. Not only is she being closely monitored by the police who I have no doubt will arrest her if she wakes up, the Council is also watching her. If she wakes up, they'll take her to England and put her on trial."

"What do you know about Finch's murder? Or Professor Worth's?" asked Joyce as she looked at Giles.

"I…. " said Giles, "how do you know about…. Them?"

"The other Willow told me" said Joyce, "she said that Finch was an accident; and that the Professor's murder was ordered by the Mayor. Is any of that true?"

"Joyce, I…." said Giles as Joyce interrupted him.

"She told me that in her reality, she wanted Faith killed to save Angel" said Joyce, "is that true?"

"You don't understand" said Giles, "I'm sure that we would have prevented Angel from killing Faith, but at the time our situation was desperate."

"You were willing to go ahead and kill a human being?" asked Joyce as she shut her eyes tightly and looked down, "just like that?"

"We were trying to save the world" said Giles, "that's why Buffy got you out of Sunnydale, so that you wouldn't get caught in the crossfire."

"So Faith was a casualty of war?" asked Joyce as she looked up at Giles, anger evident in her eyes.

"It's not that simple" said Giles as he shook his head and took off his glasses, "why this sudden interest in Faith?"

"One of the people who came through the Quantum Mirror was an alternate version of Faith" said Joyce to Giles' surprise, "she and that Willow were together, as in that they were in a relationship… and it seemed that she had her head on straight while she saved our Willow's life."

"Joyce" said Giles as he put on his glasses while looking surprised.

"If Faith is so broken as you and this so called Watcher's Council claim" said Joyce, "then why did she prevent the alternate Willow from killing the man who aimed a gun at me? Willow was within her rights to kill him…. At least that's my opinion… but Faith prevented her."

"That's a different Faith" said Giles softly, "the circumstance here are different."

"Everything is the same" said Joyce, "she begged me Rupert, she begged me to watch over the version of her here. She said that she'll be broken.. that she'll do many bad things. That she needs someone to be there for her before any of that even happens. She needs someone to help her."

"Joyce" said Giles, "she's dangerous."

"I've been visiting her a few days a week for a few hours" said Joyce.

"I.. I know" said Giles as he rubbed his temples, "someone from the Council called and asked me why you were visiting her."

"I see" said Joyce as she stood up straight and looked at Giles, "tell your Council this… I will go visit Faith if and when I please. If they try to stop me in any way… and I mean, in any way… I will notify the Air Force. I will tell them exactly who Faith is, and what she can do. I will convince them to get her the help she needs because frankly, I don't trust the Council to look after her best interests."

"Joyce" said Giles, "I understand this is an emotional reaction to seeing a well adjusted Faith from another reality, but…."

"I will watch over her and Buffy" said Joyce, "if the Council even comes close, then I'll call the military…. If Faith happens to disappear, I'll call the military. If I have to, I will adopt Faith. Make no mistake Rupert, nothing is to happen to her. In fact, I'll be calling the Colonel in-charge of the operation that took down the Initiative and tell him about Faith. True, what I'll tell him is second hand information, but I'll convince our Faith to talk to him when she wakes up; to tell him the truth."

"Joyce" said Giles, "the Council….."

"I am not afraid of your Council" said Joyce, "if they even threaten me or Buffy, I'll notify the Air Force. If Faith dies while in the coma, I'll ask the Colonel to launch an investigation. He and I had a long talk, not about Slayers mind you… but I know what kind of a character he has."

"The Council is powerful, Joyce" said Giles, "please, just let it go. Faith is a lost cause, there's nothing you or I can do to help her. I agree that she needs help, but the Council is equipped for this. It's been like this for centuries, the Council is responsible for punishing Slayers if they're determined to have done something wrong."

"Really?" said Joyce, "what do you know of Faith's background?"

"What she told me and Buffy" said Giles, "she's from Boston, taken out of school, her watcher was killed in front of her, another watcher betrayed her…"

"And after all that" said Joyce, "did the Council give her any help in dealing with the consequences of what happened?"

"That's not the point" said Giles.

"That's precisely the point" said Joyce as she picked up the roasting dish and walked towards the dining room, "tell them Rupert, tell them what I told you. If she's moved, the Air Force will know… I'll make sure they know."

"Joyce…" said Giles as he watched the older blonde walk away.

"Please call Willow and Tara, Dinner's ready" said Joyce as she lay the dish on the dining table before heading to the living room and at the foot of the staircase, "Anya, Xander, Buffy! Dinner's ready."

"Coming" said Xander as he walked over into the dining room, only to see a stressed Giles turn around and head towards the backdoor, "Oh boy, this is gonna be one interesting dinner."

TBC.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**The Rosenberg Residence, 0500 hours.**

Willow was in her room when she looked back at the sleeping blonde on her bed before she looked at the four packed boxes in one corner of her room. Everything in those boxes were part of her life in the dorms; books, charms and crystals. She slowly got off the bed, making double sure that Tara didn't awaken, and walked towards them. She slowly ran her fingers across the top of the boxes and smiled at where fate had taken here.

'I'm joining the Air Force' thought Willow to herself as she smiled and looked at the boxes, 'it never entered my mind as a career choice, but the opportunity to go to other planets…. Working on highly advanced technology, helping others.. my God, it's…. I know I didn't tell the Scoobies everything that Joyce and I know about the Stargate, but I hope it's enough.'

She then turned towards Tara and smiled, before she slowly opened the door and walked out of her room and down the stairs. She walked towards the living room where there were pictures of her and her parents, the only one where all of them were smiling. She picked it up and ran her fingers along the glass as she remembered the trip to Barcelona they had all taken, the only family trip in Willow's memory.

'Not really a trip' thought Willow to herself as she smiled, 'the nanny wasn't able to make it, and mom and dad had a conference in Barcelona. A working trip, but a trip nevertheless.'

Willow recalled that the man taking that picture had said some obscure joke that caused Ira and Sheila Rosenberg to laugh, and the reason the younger redhead was laughing was because she saw someone falling into a fountain. Willow closed her eyes and remembered that scene of a man walking behind the photographer, he turned as a beautiful woman passed him by and without knowing.. he back himself into the cold waters of a nearby fountain.

'May not be a family vacation' thought Willow to herself, 'but I can always imagine that it was.'

Willow's mother had told her that she would be teaching in Milan and wished her good luck in all her endeavours at the Academy. Unlike her mother though, Ira actually insisted that she take at least a picture she loved along with her. He knew that she loved the picture with all of them laughing and wanted her to take it, but he said that he couldn't be able to see her off as he was in Japan for a conference. As she brought the frame to her chest, she looked around the house and remembered being alone for most of her young life; the only one taking care of her would be the nanny, Beatrice. Not only was she highly trained as an executive nanny.

'Whatever that is, I still have no clue' thought Willow to herself.

But she was highly educated, and would teach Willow and help her with the homework. Of course, she would give the young redhead chores to do, and once those were done… she would give her an allowance. Willow smiled as she walked into the kitchen where she saw herself drying the dishes while Beatrice was washing them in the sink. But eventually, her parents let her go when Willow was eleven. She never understood why until years later that her mother wanted the redhead to be self sufficient. She wanted Willow to learn to do things on her own, true the neighbours would check up on the young redhead often and Xander would visit when he could but without anyone around the house when it really mattered to talk to, and with her being by herself for most of the time, Willow became more quiet and more introverted. The only one who seemed to pull her out of her shell was Xander, her first crush… her first love.

'Unrequited love' thought Willow to herself as she smiled when she thought about the kiss they shared when they thought they were going to die, "my closest, and oldest friend."

It was finally after meeting Buffy and Giles that she slowly came out of her shell, but as Willow thought harder; she realized something that had just occurred to her.

'I was never alone' thought Willow to herself as she hurriedly looked around the house, she walked into the backyard and looked around, and then into the living room, the dining room, she even peeked into her room and her empty parents room after she ran up the stairs.

'Nothing' she thought to herself as she slowly closed the door, 'where are you?'

Willow couldn't believe that she never realized it, that even after having seen supernatural things occurring all around her since meeting Buffy… she still couldn't put two and two together.

'And I'm supposed to be smart' thought Willow to herself as she looked behind every nook and cranny of the house.

"Are you here?" whispered Willow, "I'm sorry I never acknowledged you, I always thought you were just my imagination. But you were always there weren't you? Can I see you one last time? Please?"

As Willow stood in the middle of the living room, everything was quiet and nothing made a sound. She looked around but she couldn't see anything. She closed her eyes and remembered that after Beatrice was gone, she would see a small ball of light, about the size on a penny just floating in the air. But it was only from the corner of her eye, as if it didn't want to be seen because when she turned to look at it properly, it would be gone. The first time she saw it was after Beatrice has let go, she had called Xander crying and he ran over to her house. Willow wanted to stay with Xander, but the boy wouldn't allow it since his father was already drunk. He offered to stay, but the sobbing girl said that she didn't want his father to beat him because of her. Willow smiled as she remembered Xander kissing her cheek before he left the house a few hours later. As she shut the door and engaged all the locks, Willow remembered that she felt as if someone was watching her. Fearful, she started to tear up as she slowly moved her head to the side and noticed a small ball of white light that was floating in the air. When she turned her head fully, she saw the ball simply fly out the wall and into the backyard. Running after it, the twelve year old Willow looked out the backdoor window and saw nothing.

Following that first instance, Willow always felt that she was being watched but she didn't feel fearful anymore… it was more of a comfort. She told her mother about it, and was told that it was simply a coping mechanism to her being alone in the house.. and that it showed that Willow wasn't learning to be self-sufficient, since she had to conjure up these imaginary balls of light…. Or imaginary friends.

While her eyes remained closed, Willow whispered into thin air.

"I know you would always hide yourself" whispered Willow, "so here I am with my eyes closed, I mean you no harm. I just wanted to thank you, thank you for being there for me even though I denied your existence."

As her eyes remained closed, Willow noticed that a bright white spot was forming as she could see the light through her eyelids. And she smiled.

"I'm opening my eyes" whispered Willow, "please don't leave."

Willow slowly opened her eyes and took in a deep breath as she saw the sight before her. It was a very tiny ball of light that was simply floating in front of her. She slowly wrapped her palms around it and soothed it as she brought it closer. Looking closely, she could see the light pulsing slowly and then she felt it… a gentle warmth emanating from the light.

"You're my first orb" said Willow as she thought about orbs, supposedly the souls of the dead. They were supposed to be harmless, and she only found out about them after having read some of Giles' books. But at that time, she never gave a thought that what she had earlier seen was a supernatural occurrence. Instead, her mother would always tell her it was a trick of the light, or an imaginary friend.

"You were looking out for me" said Willow as she saw the ball move up and down as it seemed to nod 'yes', "you are my guardian angel?"

Willow smiled as the ball nodded yes.

"Will you come with me?" asked Willow who let out a tear as it moved from left to right, as if it was shaking it's head with a 'no'.

"I understand, it's time that I really learned to look after, and find, myself" said Willow as the light nodded 'yes'.

"Thank you for looking out for me" said Willow, "please watch over Buffy? I worry about her.. would you be her guardian angel just as you were mine?"

Willow gave a wide smile as the ball of light nodded a 'yes'.

"Thank you" whispered Willow, "and goodbye."

The ball then flew towards Willow as it brushed her cheek and flew out the front door.

"Thank you" said Willow.

"Willow?" asked Tara as she walked down the stairs before looking groggily at her, "are you alright?"

"Yea" smiled Willow as she looked at Tara, "I'm ready to go."

**Sunnydale Airport, 0800 hours.**

There was simply silence in Joyce's jeep with Tara and Willow seated at the back, Joyce driving the vehicles and Buffy just silently looking out the window with her arms folded across her chest. Willow could see that the blonde Slayer was still hurting, and because of that.. a part of the redhead was hurting as well, but she had already made the resolve to do this. She knew it was something that she had to do.

Tara held on to Willow's hand tightly and looked at the redhead, before nodding towards Buffy.

Willow then nodded her head and leaned forward and put her hand on the front passenger seat.

"Buff" said Willow softly, "please change your mind and come with us. I'd love for you to see the Academy, at least it would ease your worry that I'll be well taken care off."

"She's right, Buffy" said Joyce, "come with us, you'll be able to take a break from Slaying for two days and you'll be able to see for yourself that Willow will be alright."

"It's fine mom" said Buffy quietly as she looked at the passing cars, "I still have my duties here, can't take a night off you know. An apocalypse may be just around the corner."

"Buffy" said Willow as she gently put her hand on the blonde Slayer's shoulder, "please come with us."

"Mom can tell me everything when she come back" said Buffy softly as she jerked her shoulder away as Willow looked on in pain, "you should enjoy yourself, Willow."

"Buffy" said Joyce, "this isn't fair."

"Not now, mom" said Buffy as she lay her head against the passenger side window, "please not now."

It took them a few more minutes before they reached the airport and Joyce parked the jeep. Tara had helped Willow take out her luggage and put it on the asphalt as Joyce locked the doors. Buffy had already started to walk towards the terminal when Willow turned to Joyce who was walking next to her as she pulled the suitcase behind her.

"Mrs. Summers" said Willow, "maybe it would be better if you satyed in Sunnydale, I don't want Buffy to think that you're playing favourites. She's already thinking that, I can tell."

"It's alright, Willow" said Joyce.

"Mrs. Summers" said Willow as she stopped and turned towards Joyce, and held her hands gently, "please, stay with Buffy. I can't thank you enough for all the support you've given me, you've looked after me once that incident was over, you've been more of a mother to me than my own mother ever was… but I think… no, I know Buffy needs you more. If you go, it'll destroy her."

"Then you'll be going alone" said Joyce.

"I've been doing a lot of things alone" said Willow, "but that was because I had no choice; this time though, I'm making a choice to do this alone."

"If… if… if you'd have me" said Tara as she tapped on Willow's shoulder, who turned and looked at the blonde, "I.. I… don't have classes for the rest of the week.. I.. I want to come with you… I mean if you don't mind. I mean you asked me if I wanted to come with you and I know I.. you know… nev.. never gave an answer. So… I.. I'd like to come with you."

"Willow, Tara" said Joyce as they continued walking towards the terminal, "remember what we read about, you need to keep your relationship with each other a secret. At least while you're at the Academy."

"I know" said Willow as she glanced at Tara who was giving the redhead a small smile, "no smoochies, then."

"Exactly" smiled Joyce.

"Yea" said Willow as she turned back to Tara and smiled at the blonde, "I'd love for you to come with me."

"I'll let Colonel O'Neill know about the change when we get back" said Joyce.

"Alright" said Willow as they entered the terminal where they saw Giles, a beaming Giles, stand up as he saw Buffy and the others walk in behind her. Willow noticed that Giles was holding something behind his back has he walked towards the,.

"Rupert" smiled Joyce, "I'm glad you could come, we just….."

"Sorry" said Giles as he stepped forward and handed Willow three envelopes, "I hope it wasn't too presumptuous of me, it seemed the least I could do."

"Giles?" asked a surprised Willow as she opened the envelopes and then looked up at the former librarian of Sunnydale High in surprise, "you didn't have to, Giles. You really didn't have to…"

"What?" asked Joyce as Willow handed the envelopes to the older blonde who opened them and took out the contents and saw two round trip tickets, including one one-way ticket to Colorado Springs under Joyce, Buffy and Willow's name. Joyce then looked up at Giles, "Rupert, you didn't really have to do this. I mean…"

"You and Buffy need a break" said Giles as he looked at Joyce and then at Buffy who looked up at him in surprise, "I heard that Colorado Springs is very nice this time of year, and I felt that you should enjoy it."

"Giles" said Buffy quietly, "I'm needed here. I'm not going."

"Buffy" said Giles as he gently held on to the Slayer's shoulders, "this is something you need to do. I've done a lot of thinking since your mother and I talked, actually I haven't even slept yet… but I think you should be given the chance to take a look at the Academy as well. Especially if you really do decide you want to attend it."

"Huh?" said Buffy in surprise as she looked at Giles, and then a confused Willow and a smilling Joyce.

"So" said Joyce, "you thought about what I said?"

"Yes" said Giles as he fixed his glasses, "I think once she wakes up, if we can give her the help she needs then I don't see why she won't be a suitable replacement for Buffy."

"Wait a sec" said Buffy as she stepped back, "what are you guys talking about? Who would replace me?"

"Oh" said Willow as her eyes widened and she looked at Giles and then Joyce in surprise, "you guys talked about her?"

"Yes" said Joyce.

"I'll try to keep the Council out of this" said Giles, "but they have eyes everywhere, so Joyce.. if you would be so kind as to explain to the Colonel about… you know."

"I will" said Joyce.

"Mom… Giles?" said a very confused Buffy, "what, or who, are you guys talking about?"

"Faith" said Willow, "they're talking about Faith."

"Look" said Buffy, "there is no way that tramp is replacing me, not after what she did.. no way."

"Buffy" said Joyce as she took her daughter to one side, "there's something I haven't told you."

While Giles, Buffy and Joyce went to one side to talk, Willow turned around and looked at Tara who was slowly stepping backwards as she looked down; her hair covering her face.

"Tara?" asked Willow as she walked towards the blonde witch, "what's going on?"

"I.. I guess you don't need me… me to.. you know.. come along?" asked Tara nervously.

"What gave you that idea?" asked Willow as Tara looked up at her in surprise.

"Mrs…. Mrs. Summer and Buffy are go.. going with you" said Tara, "you.. you don't need me tagging along."

"Silly girl" smiled Willow, "I don't need you to tag along… I want you to come with me when I visit the Academy, when I meet the people I'll one day work with. Don't you understand? I want you there with me."

"You sure?" asked Tara.

"Darn tootin'" said Willow as she grinned at Tara.

"Then… I.. I… should buy a ticket" said Tara as she smiled at Willow.

"No" said Willow, "I should… I'll be back."

"Willow" said Tara as the redhead ran to the airline counter. Tara then grabbed Willow's suitcase handle and ran after her just as she asked the agent if there was an empty seat near the redhead's.

"Yes, Miss" said the agent as he looked up at Willow, "one round trip ticket from Sunnydale to Colorado Springs, via Los Angeles?"

"Yes" said Willow as she handed the agent a credit card.

"Willow" said Tara, "you didn't have to do that… I.. I mean I could have paid."

"Don't worry" said Willow as she looked at Tara with a gleam in her eyes, "I'll make sure you pay me back, with interest."

"Really?" smirked Tara as she raised a eyebrow, "it would be my pleasure."

"Oh" said Willow as the agent handed her the ticket, "trust me, it would be mine."

**Major Carter's Lab, SGC, an hour later.**

The Major had just gotten off the phone with Joyce who had informed her that herself, Willow and two others would be on the way to Colorado Springs. She had arranged a tour of the Academy for them, plus a tour of the SGC for both Joyce and Willow. When Joyce handed the phone to Willow while they were talking to the others, the redhead had told her that she didn't mention the Stargate to Tara and Buffy, just some information about alien technology. So, the Major thought it best if SG1 split the work… Colonel O'Neill and herself will show Joyce and Willow around the SGC, while Teal'c and Daniel show Buffy and Tara around Colorado Springs and answer any questions they have about aliens or alien technology.

Once Colonel O'Neill and General Hammond had agreed with that arrangement, she was authorised to run a background check on both Buffy and Tara. However, it was Tara that had her a bit worried when she decided to call for Colonel O'Neill.

"Hey Carter" said the Colonel as he walked into her lab, "find something on our new resident genius?"

"No, Sir" said the Major, "although she can checkmate me in two moves on our long distance chess game, I haven't found anything new."

"Right" said the Colonel as he put his hands in his pockets, "what's up?"

"It's about Willow's friend, Tara. The one who's coming with her" said the Major, "I ran a background check on her and…. well…"

The Major turned her computer screen around to face the Colonel who walked towards the screen and looked on surprised.

"A missing person's bulletin?" asked the Colonel as he looked at an equally confused Major Carter.

TBC.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Colorado Springs Airport, Colorado Springs, 1600 hours.**

Colonel O'Neill and Daniel were at the gate waiting for Willow and the others to come off the plane before they collected their bags, dropped those off at the hotel and then met Colonel Carter at the Air Force Academy. Daniel sat on a seat that looked towards the area where passengers would walk through, while at the same time noticing that the Colonel kept on looking at his watch and then at the arrival screen.

"Jack" said Daniel as he looked up at his friend who was walking back and forth, "the plane was delayed; maybe it hasn't even come up to the gate yet."

"Maybe" said the Colonel as he walked over to Daniel and sat down next to him. Daniel knew Colonel O'Neill very well; it wasn't the flight delay that had him worried, it was the details that they had found on Tara and Buffy. Details that they only had found due to an in-depth background check once Joyce had told them that Buffy and Tara would be coming as well.

A few hours before they arrived at the airport, Major Carter had run an additional background check on Tara and the others. Once she had the additional details, she called Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c and Daniel down to her office to tell them about her new findings.

"Carter" said the Colonel as he walked into her lab followed by Teal'c and then Daniel who walked in with is hands in his pockets, "what'cha got?"

"Sir" said the Colonel as she looked at her computer screen, "Tara Maclay, born on the sixteenth of October 1980; she's the youngest of two children… the oldest being one Donald Maclay. Parents are Theodore 'Teddy' Maclay and Sarah Maclay, and…."

"And?" asked the Colonel as he noticed the surprised look on the Major's face, "what else?"

"Sam?" asked Daniel.

"Well" said the Colonel, "her mom died two years ago due to… this cant be right… unforeseen circumstances.. huh?"

"Huh?" asked Daniel as he walked to the other side of the Colonel's table and stood next to her, "it says that Sarah Maclay died from possible foul play… but there's no evidence to back up that theory."

"That doesn't make sense" said Colonel O'Neill, "why would they even think it was foul play if there's no evidence?"

"Sam" said Daniel as he pointed at a section of the screen, "can you do a check on the father?"

"Colonel?" asked the Major as she looked at him.

"I'll take responsibility" nodded the Colonel as Major Carter pressed some keys on her keyboard.

"Teddy Maclay" said the Major as she looked on in surprise, "numerous complaints from neighbours about verbal abuse and possible physical abuse on the mother and teh daughter."

"What?" said the Colonel as he swiftly moved to stand behind the Major and looked at the screen, "complaints of abuse to the mother by neighbours, but she herself never filed any charges; physical abuse was never seen on the mother."

"Any marks on either of the children?" asked Daniel as Teal'c looked up at Daniel and then Colonel O'Neill in was can only be described as quiet anger.

"No" said the Major, "but many neighbours complained of verbal abuse mostly, the father and brother would keep on calling the women, 'demons.'"

"Demons?" asked Teal'c, "as the creatures the Initiative were experimenting on?"

"I don't know" said Major Carter, "another neighbour claimed in his complaint that he overheard sounds of shouting between the father and mother, that he would call her and her daughter spawns of Satan, that they would be sent to hell for using the power of the beast. And that's a direct quote, sir."

"After the last fight they had" said Daniel, "the police got a call from the daughter, I mean Tara, after she had gotten back from school."

"Oh God" said Major Carter, "the report says she found her mother's body in the basement, the report says that it was suicide."

"Poor kid" said the Colonel as he sat down while Daniel watched him closely. The Archaeologist knew the Colonel the most among everyone in SG1 and that, although it wasn't suicide, Daniel knew that the Colonel was the only one in the room who knew what it was like to find the body of a loved one and there being nothing that could be done to bring them back to life.

"Carter" said the Colonel quietly, "is there anything else on Tara?"

"After the body was found" said the Major as she noticed the sudden change in the mood of the entire room, "the police interviewed the neighbours. According to their reports, everyone was sure that it wasn't suicide… they said that Sarah loved Tara more than anything in the world, that there is no way on Earth that she would leave her little girl alone with those two… and that's a direct quote sir."

"So it was murder then?" said Daniel.

"Police said that they suspect it was the father" said Daniel as he looked at the screen, "but there was no evidence, and the case became cold."

"O'Neill" said Teal'c, "is this a common occurrence among the Tau'ri?"

"Not among everyone, Big Guy" said the Colonel, "I'm sure it happens on Chulak as well."

"Indeed" said Teal'c with a bow, "if proven, there are severe penalties for those who perpetrated the act, and for those who knew what was happening… even if it was people in the next dwelling."

"I see" said Daniel when the Major looked up at Colonel O'Neill and then at everyone in the room.

"Sir" said the Major, "the missing person's report was filed only a few months ago, at the beginning of the school year actually…. And it was by both the father and the brother."

"Jack" said Daniel, "do we need to tell the authorities about this? I mean if the father and brother were really abusing Tara, and maybe murdered.. or knows who did it… I mean, can't we just hold off on it?"

"I'll talk to Hammond about it" said the Colonel, "how about Mrs. Summers daughter, Buffy… is it?"

"Buffy Anne Summers" said the Major as she looked at her screen and opened her eyes wide, "kicked out of school for burning down the gymnasium."

"That's one way to escape gym class" said Colonel O'Neill, "and?"

"Sir" said the Major as she looked up at him in shock, "after that incident, she spent a few months in a psychiatric institution."

"For?" asked the Colonel.

"It's sealed, sir" said the Major.

"OK" said the Colonel as he ran his hand through his hair, "anything else?"

"Suspected in the murder of one Ted Buchannan, and then later cleared of all charges" said the Major as Colonel O'Neill stood up and walked over to where she was sitting down, "was arresting on suspicion of the murder of a Kendra Young.. again, all charges were later dropped. And was questioned on the death of the Sunnydale Deputy Mayor, Alan Finch… but nothing came out of that as far as the Sunnydale Police Department was concerned."

"School records?" asked Colonel O'Neill.

"Average" said the Major, "mostly due to missing a lot of classes."

Daniel looked at Colonel O'Neill and frowned, and it was that same frown that was on his face as he looked at the Colonel who had gotten up again and walked towards the arrival's screen.

"Jack" said Daniel, "be patient."

"Daniel" said the Colonel, "this is…"

"Jack" said Daniel as he stood up as he walked past him, "they're here."

"Oh" said the Colonel as he turned around and saw Willow in jeans and a black jacket with an orange shirt underneath walking towards them. Next to her was a blonde girl, about Willow's age in a long skirt and yellow shirt who was nervously looking around while she clasped her hands tightly in front of her. As Daniel went reached out his hand to them, he saw Joyce and a petite blonde girl who was just wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans, 'must be Buffy, and the other blonde must be Tara.'

"Umm… Jack" said Daniel as he nudged the older man to get him out of his thoughts, "you remember Joyce and Willow."

"Sorry" said the Colonel as he turned to Willow and the older blonde as he shook their hands, "welcome to Colorado Springs."

"Thank you Colonel" said Joyce, "and I'd like for you to meet my daughter, Buffy."

"Hi" said the Colonel as Buffy simply gave him a nod.

"Colonel" said Willow as she turned towards Tara, "this is my friend, Tara… Tara Maclay."

"Hi… hi, sir" said Tara as she took a step back nervously and looked down at the floor which made Colonel O'Neill look over at Daniel who was frowning, "ni… nice to meet you."

"Miss Maclay" said the Colonel softly, "please call me Jack; and that goes for all of you… including Red, well… at least until she graduates from the Academy."

"Tha… thanks" said Tara as she looked up at the older man in front of her, and then immediately looked down when their eyes met, before she glanced at a smiling Willow.

"How about we get you ladies to the hotel?" said Daniel, "then Sam… I mean Major Carter, will be giving you a tour of the Academy. Then tomorrow we'll be showing Willow what she'll be working with once she graduates the Academy… and Tara and Miss Summers will hang out with myself and my colleague, Murray for a late lunch on… well, the other stuff that I'm guessing Willow told you we do."

"Buffy" said the younger blonde as she looked at Daniel, "call me Buffy."

"Alright, Buffy" said Daniel.

"So" said Colonel O'Neill as he and Daniel took Willow's and Joyce's bags respectively "shall we?"

"Sure" smiled Joyce as she looked at Buffy who gave her mother a small smile.

As they were walking towards the exit, the Colonel couldn't help but overhear Willow taking to Tara. From his first impression of the blonde girl, especially the reaction to him… and her nervousness, and extreme shyness told him that she could possibly have been more a victim of emotional and verbal abuse than anything else, but there was no way to be sure. Which is why before he left the mountain with Daniel, the Colonel had asked the archaeologist to talk to her discreetly if possible when he had the opportunity. If anything, the Colonel hoped that he would be able to get Tara some help.

"Th.. thanks for letting me come with you" said Tara as she smiled at Willow, "I.. I never went out much… I mean except to get to Sunnydale."

"I'm glad you could come" said a smiling Willow as she looked at Tara before getting into Daniel's car.

**The Spring's Hotel, 1645 hours.**

The small group had reached the hotel twenty minutes ago and had checked in, before depositing all their things in their rooms. Joyce had made Buffy room with Willow, while she roomed with Tara. As she came out of the restroom after having washed her face, Buffy saw Willow who had her back to her as she looked outside the window. Looking at the redhead, Buffy couldn't see the Willow she saw in her living room… the one who said that she was floating in space dying with blood coming out off her arm. She kept on thinking that Willow was doing this to follow the dreams of her alternate self. But it was hours earlier at the Sunnydale airport that her mother dropped a bombshell on her. She asked Buffy if she was interested in attending the Air Force Academy, that if she was.. she could ask Colonel O'Neill for a recommendation but Buffy would have to give up being a Slayer. Instead, Giles would help train Faith when she wakes up, that she would talk to the Air Force about getting the brunette Slayer some help.

"Mom" said Buffy as she looked at Joyce in disbelief, "I can't believe what I'm hearing, Faith is a murderer… a insane, murderer. There is no way that she's fit to be a Slayer… she is not fit to replace me."

"Buffy" said Joyce as they stood in a quiet corner of the airport, "remember I said that three people came through the mirror?"

"Don't tell me…" said Buffy as she closed her eyes and turned around in frustration, before turning back to face Joyce, "mom, you're telling me that the third person to come through was Faith?"

"Yeah" said Joyce.

"Then I seriously have to question the company that this so-called alternate Willow keeps" said Buffy, "mom…. she killed two people. She killed the mayor's aide, she killed a Professor so that she could help the Mayor become a pure demon and end the world. And you believe that this Faith can be helped because the other Faith is all goody two shoes now?"

"Buffy" said Joyce, "Willow, I mean the other Willow told me that Finch's death was an accident… and that Professor Worth's death was an order by the Mayor that she was following in a time of war. She told me, and Faith confirmed it, that she still has nightmare about it.. that she still wakes up crying in her sleep despite all the help being given to her."

"So you're saying that our Faith.. .no, this Faith should be forgiven? That we should… no.. that I should forget everything she did?" asked Buffy, "mom, she cheered the Mayor on.. she wanted to end the world.. she made her life choices and she paid for it. I, for one, hopes that she never wakes up."

"Buffy" said Joyce sternly.

"She almost murdered the man I love" said Buffy, "she almost killed Angel, and I had to sacrifice myself again to cure him… did you know that? If he had died, we could have lost…."

"Buffy" said Joyce softly as she stepped forward and gently put her hands on the Blonde girl's shoulders, "Willow told me what happened. She told me that she actively supported you killing Faith so that you could save Angel… is that true?"

"Mom" said Buffy as she stepped back and looked at Willow who was laughing at something Xander, who had just arrived, said.. "she… she would never…"

"Our Willow didn't" said Joyce softly, "the other one told me everything, I'll be having a talk later will Willow as well. But I need to know from you, is it true?"

"Does it matter?" asked Buffy, "you, Giles, Willow… everyone's made up your minds… does it matter what I say?"

"Honey" said Joyce as she crouched down, "what's done is done, none of us can do anything about it… but I can see now that keeping this secret is so painful for you…. I need you to talk to me. Please."

"Nothing happened, mom" said Buffy as she looked down at the floor, "the other Willow was lying to you."

"Buffy" said Joyce softly as she closed her eyes and put the palm of her hand on Buffy's chest, "you know you can tell me anything. I know you don't have any choice in being a Slayer, but you'll hopefully have the choice to join the Air Force Academy. I won't force you to choose. Take some time to decide, I just want you to be happy.. that's all I've ever wanted for you."

"Mom" said Buffy, "I'm not leaving a psycho to take over my duties, there is absolutely no way that's going to happen… I don't care what the other Faith told you and…."

"She asked me to look after her" said Joyce as Buffy looked at her mother in shock, "she told me that when she wakes up, she'll do things that she's not proud off… that she needs someone to help her… and I said I will, as will Giles."

"What?" said Buffy as she looked back at Giles and then at Joyce again in shock, "mom… no, she's dangerous."

"Buffy" said Joyce as she gently held her hand, "I've been visiting her while she's in the coma, I read how coma patients need someone to talk to them.. that they can still hear. I thought a soothing voice would help her… it should help her. And when she wakes up, she'll need help… she'll need our help."

"Mom" said Buffy as she shook her head, "don't. She murdered a man…. Two, in fact."

"Buffy" said Joyce as she ran her hand through Buffy's hair, "she'll need help, isn't that the job of a Slayer? To help others."

"We're supposed to kill the monsters" said Buffy, "and Faith…"

"Is not a monster" said Joyce ass he interrupted Buffy, "at least I'm going to do everything in my power to prevent that from happening, Rupert said that I should talk to the Colonel about you and Faith being Slayers. We think that they'd be able to protect you… and Faith, from the Watchers Council."

"Mom" said Buffy.

"Listen" said Joyce, "I want you to make your own decision about what you want to do with your life. If you choose to stay in Sunnydale and slay, then go for it. But I need you to help Faith recover, I need you Buffy… please, I need you for this.. she needs both our help. I saw what she could become, if she was given the right guidance. And if you decide to join the Academy later on, then at least Faith will have been able to train with you and Rupert enough to take over for you. Buffy, she needs help… you need to talk to someone and I plan on asking Colonel O'Neill to help me do that. I don't know why, but I trust him."

"There's no way for me to stop you, is there?" asked Buffy softly.

"I need you with me" said Joyce, "Giles will help me with this, will you?"

Buffy remembered not having given Joyce an answer; instead she quietly turned away defeated and walked towards Xander who had just finished hugging Willow. Joyce looked on sadly as a visibly tired Buffy walked away and all the older woman could feel was tired. It was as if Buffy's feelings were being reflected onto her, that all she hoped to do was slowly unravelling. Joyce knew that without Buffy's support, this endeavour would be extremely difficult. As she looked at Buffy, she had an idea that she hoped would give the blonde Slayer time to think things through… to see that maybe Faith could be saved, and that she could have a guiding hand.

And this was the fruition of Joyce's plan as Buffy looked at the back of Willow in the hotel room in Colorado Springs. Buffy walked towards Willow and stood next to her best friend, her best friend who was leaving their tight knit circle of friends. Buffy turned to face the redhead and told her about Joyce wanting her to join the Academy, that she was going to ask Colonel O'Neill.

"Really?" asked an excited Willow as she grabbed Buffy's hands, "Buff, that would be so amazing. Can you imagine the both of us working together… travelling to other planets in… you know… ships. Wow!"

"Will" said Buffy, "my mom asked for my help, and after that's settled.. then I'll join. She told me that I have a choice, and depending on what you have to say… I'll be making that choice to join the Academy. If I can get a recommendation, that is."

"What do you mean?" asked a confused Willow.

"Mom told me that another Faith came through, is that true?" asked Buffy. She got her answer when Willow smiled as she looked out into space, and she also noticed that there was a little blush on the redhead's cheeks.

"Yea" said a smiling Willow, "it's true."

"Listen" said Buffy, "Can you tell me about her?"

"Well" said Willow, "we have ten minutes before we have to go downstairs and meet the others, so yeah… I'll tell you everything. My alternate self showed me everything she, and the both of them went through together. Did you know that Faith wanted to have a threesome with me and my counterpart when she was here?"

"Get out" said a surprised Buffy.

"No" laughed Willow, "it's true."

"Can… can you tell me more?" asked Buffy as she and Willow sat down and talked.

TBC.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Cheyenne Mountain, SGC, 1000 hours; the next day.**

The morning after the tour of the Academy with Major Carter was extremely exciting for Willow. She had shown the redhead and the others around the campus, and what she'd be doing. The Major reminded her that everything would be regimented, that Willow would have the opportunity to work with her in Cheyenne Mountain on various technology and research during her break. The Major had told her privately that if she'd like to, Willow can join one of the off-world research teams for a couple of week during her breaks. However, since all Buffy and Tara knew was that Willow would be working with alien technology… they never realized what the Major really meant was working on alien technology on another planet.

The Major also told her about all the awards she had won during her time at the Academy.

"I still say I'll beat you" smiled Willow as she walked down the halls with the Major, followed by Tara, Joyce and Buffy.

"Well" replied the Major as she winked at Willow, "we still have our bet."

"Oh yeah" smiled Willow, "I like steak for lunch, please."

"Oh ho" said the Major with a grin as Willow looked back at a smiling Tara, "I see someone's getting a little too over-confident."

"When she puts her mind to it" said Joyce, "she's able to do anything."

"Yea" said Buffy as she looked at the various pictures on the walls of the hallway, "she even managed to …. Will, does she know about you being a… you know?"

"You mean about her being a witch?" asked the Major softly as they existed the building, "her counterpart already briefed us on her abilities."

"And…. and.. yo.. you're alright wi.. with it?" asked Tara nervously.

"I didn't believe it at first" said Major Carter as she invited everyone to sit at a table outside, "and to be honest with you, I still don't. I'm a scientist first, and I believe that everything has an explanation. But I'm not going to say that it doesn't exist just because I don't believe it."

"Tha.. that's an in.. interesting way of putting things" said Tara as she glanced at Willow.

The Major gave a little frown as she noticed how nervous the blonde girl still was. She herself had lost her mother in a car crash years ago, and knew what it was like to lose family. But she still had her father, although she blamed him for her death… the Major also wanted to make him proud which was why she had joined the Air Force in the first place. She wondered would she be the same as Tara if her Father was as emotionally abusive as Tara's father seemed to be. The Major also wondered if she talked to Willow about her past, or if she had spoken to anyone.

"Willow" said the Major as she looked at the redhead sitting across from her, "you'll have to start talking to that counsellor. He'll be right here at the Academy so you can see him whenever you have problems, but you are required to see him at least once a week."

"Will it help?" asked Buffy, "I mean talking about things.. I mean, you said you don't believe in magic and all that and that's mainly why Riley and the others tried to capture Willow and….."

"This counsellor has already been briefed about Willow's case" said Major Carter before they broke for the night, "she'll be in good hands. And yes, it does help to talk about it."

The next morning, Joyce and the girls walked down to the hotel lobby where they met with Major Carter, along with Daniel and Teal'c who was wearing a woollen cap. The Major introduced Teal'c to Buffy and Tara who hadn't met him before, but when Tara shook his hand… her eyes widened and she stepped back slightly.

"Tara Maclay" said Teal'c, "are you not well?"

"Ummmm…." Said Tara as she looked at Willow and then at Buffy, "I.. I'm al… all right. It.. it's just I.. I haven't me.. met so… someone li.. like you."

"Someone like him?" asked Daniel as he approached Tara, "you can tell he's a…. you know?"

"Ye… yes" said Tara quietly as she looked down at the floor, "I.. I'm so… sorry."

"Actually that's kind of amazing" said Daniel as he looked at both Teal'c, who was looking back at Daniel in surprise, and Major Carter before he turned to Tara again, "how did you know?"

"Daniel" said the Major as she looked around at the people walking around her, "this isn't the best place to talk about where Murray here is from."

"Murray?" asked Buffy with an eyebrow raised.

"Indeed" said Teal'c as the group headed out of the lobby and into the parking lot, "it is an alias that is not of my choosing."

"Then why don't you change it?" asked Buffy as she walked next to Teal'c, with Joyce on the other side of the large Jaffa.

"I have grown accustomed to it" said Teal'c as he nodded his head.

"Tara" whispered Willow, "how'd you know?"

"I… I know I have…. haven't told you this" whispered Tara, "but I.. I can see aura's."

"That's so cool" said Willow with as grin as the both of them were walking behind the whole group, "so did you see the aura at his abdomen?"

"Ye… yes" said Tara in surprise, "you… you knew about him?"

"He's one of the people who rescued me" said Willow, "he, Dr. Jackson, Colonel O'Neill and the Major…. Both of them."

"Wow" said Tara as she looked at Teal'c who was talking to Joyce, "a real life alien."

A few minutes passed before the small group reached two car that were in the parking lot. Joyce knew that this was a good time as any to try and convince Major Carter to let Buffy and Tara come along with them as well.

"Sam" said Joyce, "I know you guys made separate plans for all of us, and well… while I'm grateful, I was hoping that Buffy and Tara could come along with us as well."

"Mrs Summer" said the Major, "I'm sorry but we've been able to get clearance for you and Willow to get into the mountain, and…"

"My daughter needs your help" said Joyce as she reached for Buffy, "she… well, she'll be…."

"She's super strong" said Willow nodding her head as Daniel, Teal'c and Major Carter looked on in surprise.

"Strong as in?" asked Major Carter as she looked at the petite blonde.

"Preternaturally strong?" said Buffy nervously.

"Faith never explained anything when she talked to you in private?" asked Joyce as she looked at Major Carter, "I mean I was talking to Colonel O'Neill while she was talking to you and Daniel so I couldn't hear anything."

"No" said Daniel, "what are you talking about?"

"We definitely need to talk" said Joyce.

**Briefing Room, SGC, 1100 hours.**

General Hammond was having a quiet day in the office with his only appointment being meeting Willow and Joyce when they come into the SGC. He had seen Colonel O'Neill's report about the abilities of Captain Rosenberg, and agreed with him that given enough training and supervision.. that the Willow of this reality would be able to be just as good, or better than her counterpart. As the leader of the SGC, he was mostly fascinated by Willow's magic ability and how it could help in fighting the Goa'uld but then he read a report that was written by Captain Rosenberg before she left for her own reality. In her report she gave a basic overview of magic, and how potent and powerful it could be against the Goa'uld. But it was the last sentence that made him rethink about its use in the field; 'Magic, especially when using the more powerful spells including dark magic, has a way of causing addiction. And like any type of addiction, it is a very hard habit to break, and has the potential to harm friends and family'. The General wished he had gotten a chance to speak to the Captain, in person, but due to Cascade Failure occurring at any moment; she had to leave for her own reality.

Sighing, he walked out of his office into the briefing room to meet not just Joyce and Willow, but Joyce's daughter and Willow's friend as well. It was on Major Carter's insistence that he see the both of them that he allowed them on the base. The General saw the reports of the background checks that were conducted on Buffy and Tara, and he needed some answers as well. Especially if the Major was planning to do what he thought she would do, recommend them for participation in the Stargate Program. He chuckled to himself when he recalled how excited the Major was on the phone.

As he stood in the briefing room, he soon heard voices that were being carried down the hallway as he heard an additional pair of footsteps walking up the metallic staircase that led to the control room on the bottom level, the heart of their operations.

"Colonel" said General Hammond as he looked at his second-in-command and the commander for SG1, "I take it that they're here?"

"Yes, Sir" said the Colonel, "Carter called me when they reached this level, and.. ah…"

The Colonel turned around just as Major Carter walked in with Joyce and the others into the briefing room. Willow looked around at the fairly large room with the large red table in the middle and then had a flashback of her counterpart's memory. She 'saw' her landing right on top of the table with a loud thud, and then the people in the room helping her up and into the infirmary.

"General" said Major Carter as she tapped Willow's shoulder, which made her snap out of her thoughts and smile at the stout and bald man standing in front of her, "this is Willow Rosenberg, her friends Buffy Summers and Tara Maclay, and this is Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother."

"Thank you, Major" said General Landry as he stepped forward, "good to meet you all, my name is General George Hammond. I'm the commander of the SGC."

"SGC?" asked Tara.

"What do you know of what we do here?" asked the General as Colonel O'Neill walked into the General's office and took out two folders, and then handed them to the General.

"Willow said something about working with alien technology" said Buffy.

"Well" said the General, "it's a little more than that, but before we continue… I'd like Miss Summers and Miss Maclay to sign these standard non-disclosure agreements. It basically says that everything you see and hear today is classified. If anything gets out, then you'd be charged with treason against the United States."

"Oh" said Tara as she looked nervously at Willow, who smiled back at the blonde witch, "I… I… do.. don't know if I sh… should."

"Tara" said Willow, "it's alright, trust me… it's amazing."

"Indeed, Tara Maclay" said Teal'c as he sought to reassure the nervous girl, "many people on the base know the real reason for what occurs here to remain shrouded in secrecy, and one day Willow Rosenberg will be participating in this program and will require the support of her…. friends."

"Th.. thanks, Teal'c" said Willow as she looked down into the floor nervously and glanced at the nervous Tara.

"Did I miss something?" asked the Colonel as he whispered to the Major.

"No clue, sir" said Major Carter.

Once the Buffy and Tara had signed the forms, the General took everyone to the blast door covered windows in the briefing room.

"What you are about to see is one this planet's most closely guarded secrets" said the General.

"Willow" said Major Carter as she nudged Willow with her elbow, "you want to see her up close?"

"Can I?" asked Willow excitedly.

"See what?" asked a very confused Buffy as Willow started to follow Major Carter down the stairs.

"I'll be right back" said an excited Willow as she followed the Major down to the control room where she saw many personnel walking around attending to some servers at the back, a few people sitting behind some consoles at the front of the room, and then she gasped when she looked out the large window at the large ring shaped object that was sitting on the floor with a ramp that lead to the inside of the ring.

"Willow" said the Major as she grabbed her hand and gently pulled her down the stairs and into the Gateroom, "this is the Stargate."

"Holy… wow" said Willow as she looked at the Stargate and then walked up to the bottom of the ramp before turning around to face the Major, "may I? I mean could I see it up close?"

"Go ahead" said the Major as she noticed the blast doors making their characteristic sound as it slowly went up into its storage area, leaving the windows at the briefing room free for anyone to look down at the Gate.

Willow walked up the ramp slowly as she took in the sight before turning around and looking at the surprised faces of Buffy and the others as Daniel described to them what it was. Turning back around, Willow went to the ring and brushed the edge of the device with her fingers, before she went to touch one of the symbols on the inner tract.

"What is it made of?" asked Willow as she stepped back and looked at the Gate from a distance.

"A mineral called Naquada" said Major Carter, "it stores and amplifies energy… massive amounts of energy actually. All that energy is then used to create an artificial wormhole from one Stargate to another one anywhere in the galaxy. The transportation is near instantaneous."

"But the energy required" said Willow amazed, "it's…. I mean, that's what the Naquada thing is for?"

"You wanna see it in action?" asked the Major as Willow nodded excitedly, "alright, I need you to get down from there though. When the gate activates, there will be an unstable vortex due to the massive amounts of energy required to keep it open. If you're there when the vortex appears… then well…"

"I go bye bye?" asked Willow.

"Oh yeah" said the Major as she turned and asked Walter to dial Abydos.

Willow and the others in the briefing room watched as the inner ring started turning and each of the chevrons started lighting up. Major Carter and Daniel was explaining to Willow and the rest of the group respectively on how the Stargate dials other planets when suddenly they jumped back when the Stargate activated, and the unstable vortex settled down into the event horizon.

"Wow!" said Willow as she covered her mouth to keep from screaming, "that's… that's…"

"The event horizon of an artificial wormhole" said the Major as she led Willow to the top of the ramp and put her hand through the event horizon.

"Amazing" said Willow as she looked at the ripples on the blue puddle, "you can actually see it fluctuating, can't you. Look at the event horizon."

"That's what I said the first time" grinned the Major as she looked at Willow while she put her hand through the event horizon, "I know what you're thinking, and no… you don't feel a thing as you go through it. It's like stepping from one room to the next one."

"Wow" said Willow.

"This is your possible future, Willow" said the Major, "the Colonel and I will talk to General Hammond, and if you're willing.. you can go on off-world research missions. But only… and I mean only if you do well in your classes. This is a really unique opportunity for you."

The Major then looked up at Joyce and the others who were still shocked at what they were seeing.

"You have support from your friends" said the Major as she turned back to Willow, "you'll have support from us as well. I'll train you in hand to hand combat, while Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c will show you how to handle weapons. We'll help you prepare for the Basic Cadet Training… you don't need to worry about preparations."

"Thanks" said Willow.

"If you're willing" said the Colonel, "you can stay with me until you start at the Academy, and then you'll be staying in the dorms. Or if you'd like I could talk to Dr. Frasier, she has a daughter who's probably six or seven years younger than you."

"Thanks" said Willow smiling as she ran her hand through the event horizon again, "so this is what she meant when she said that her life was exciting."

"Exciting, painful, heartbreaking" said the Major as she looked at the event horizon, "a lot of things will happen; you'll see people you know die, people will get hurt, other races you can help, and those that don't want any help despite your pleas to help them… but because of the Gate we met new allies, got some cool technology… all in all.. it's a massive adventure just waiting for you. You'll be trained hard Willow, we'll train you hard but in the end we'll be right there to support you. We'll pick you up when you fall, everyone in this mountain is like family.. so even though you're going to be a Cadet, you'll still be a family member here. So, you ready to begin an adventure of a lifetime?"

"Oh yeah" grinned Willow as the wormhole disengaged and the two of them walked up to the briefing room.

Soon after the others asked more questions about the Stargate and what Willow would be doing, everyone took their seats at the briefing room table. Willow then talked about what her counterpart had said, especially about the Ori and the warning that Major Willow gave her.

"So their galaxy is in danger?" asked Daniel as he looked at Colonel O'Neill worried.

"She said that they're losing the war" said Willow.

"Sh.. she looked real bad" said Tara, "something about her blood boiling."

"She was in space" said Colonel Carter, "without a suit? Are you sure?"

"That's what she told us" said Willow, "but she said that she was beamed on board a ship and that they were operating on her arm."

"Beamed huh?" said Colonel O'Neill with a grin, "I knew one day we'll go all Star Trek."

"Is there anything else you'd like to add, Miss Rosenberg?" asked General Hammond.

"Please call me Willow?" asked the redhead, "and no, I've got nothing else to add."

"Very well then" said General Hammond, "now if…"

"Can I say something?" asked Joyce, "I know it may not be on your agenda, but it concerns my daughter and, there's another girl whose life may be at stake. You've already met her; Faith."

"After Miss Lehane left with Captain.. Major Rosenberg, we ran a background check on the Miss Lehane in this reality" said General Hammond, "apparently she's in a coma."

"Yes" said Buffy as she rubbed her face before she looked at Joyce, who nodded at her daughter to continue, "I was the one who put her there."

"OK" said Colonel O'Neill as he looked at Teal'c who had his eye brow raised in surprise, Colonel Carter and then Daniel who looked at each other in shock, "please explain."

"Honey" said Joyce as she gently placed her hand on Buffy's back while Willow held her hand tightly, "we're here. Whatever it is, I promise you that you won't get into trouble."

"Buffy" said Daniel softly as he leaned forward, "we ran a background check on you and Tara, and we found some very interesting things on your file."

"You mean Ted, Kendra and the mayor's aide.. don't you?" asked Buffy softly.

"Ted was a robot" said Joyce as she looked around, "he tried to kill Buffy and she, well… she beat him to protect me and in self defence."

"A robot?" asked Colonel Carter.

"An Android" said Willow.

"Interesting" said Teal'c as he looked at Joyce, "have you met Sarah Connor?"

"Huh?" said a confused Joyce as Buffy gave a small smile, and Willow and Tara tried to hide their grins.

"Teal'c, old buddy" said Colonel O'Neill, "Terminator was just a movie."

Teal'c then simply nodded his head and turned back to Buffy.

"Buffy Summers" said Teal'c, "I apologize for my interrupting, please continue."

"Kendra… about Kendra…" said Buffy as she shook her head.

"Buffy" said Joyce, "I'm right here with you, I think we could trust these people."

"I'm the Slayer" said Buffy softly as she looked directly at Colonel O'Neill, "and I've been fighting vampires since I was fifteen."

TBC

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Briefing Room, SGC, 1145 hours.**

Colonel O'Neill leaned back on the chair as he rubbed his temples trying to hide his agitation. Glancing around at his friends and teammates on SG1, he could see that they were also trying to contemplate the bombshell that was just dropped on them. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he saw his Commanding Officer frowning at him as well after what Buffy had just said. Turning back to look at the Blonde girl who was sitting right across from him, Colonel O'Neill knew that he had to get drunk that night because he wasn't about to like what she would reveal.

"So" said the Colonel as he leaned forward again and shook his head as he looked at Buffy, "you're telling me that you been fighting these things.. these vampires, these monsters since you were a child?"

"Jack" said Daniel as he glanced at his friend and teammate.

"Daniel" replied the Colonel.

"I'm sure that the other Willow must have told you about me" said Buffy.

"Nope" replied the Colonel, "first time I'm hearing about it, and.. seriously? Fifteen?"

"Buffy" said Daniel as he interjected the Colonel, hopeful that his friend would calm down, "you said that you're a Slayer, how does one become… you know… a Slayer?"

"I don't know" shrugged Buffy, "one day I was a normal girl going to school, worrying about prom and my boyfriend, and the next day I'm a chosen one… a Slayer. Super strong and all of that fancy stuff."

"That's what your mom said" replied Colonel Carter as she looked at Joyce who and holding Buffy's hand tightly, "but I never knew that you've been doing this since you were a child. All I was told that you had super strength"

"Stop saying that I'm a child" said Buffy, "I'm not."

"Miss Summers" said General Hammond, "what we're worried about is your wellbeing. Fighting in a war, and I won't sugar coat that word because that's exactly what it is you've been doing since you were fifteen, especially against all these creatures is something that's simply frowned upon in this day and age. Child soldiers are…"

"Horrible" said the Colonel, "and that's the kindest word that I can say in front of them."

"I.. I… I've also been fighting these things since then" said Willow, "along with Buffy, Xander, sometimes Cordelia and… and…"

"And Faith" said Joyce as he looked at the Colonel, "she needs your help, my daughter needs your help. I'm just asking that you listen."

"Buffy Summers" said Teal'c, "was participating in this war your choice?"

"No" said Buffy as she looked down at the table, "no it wasn't. I was just chosen one day and told it was my responsibility to fight."

"Young lady" said General Hammond softly, "who was it that claimed you had to fight these things?"

"My first watcher" said Buffy, "he died and then I moved to Sunnydale."

"You mean after your time in a psychiatric facility" said Colonel O'Neill as Joyce looked at the Colonel in surprise, "we ran a deep background check."

"Right" said Joyce, "after Buffy burned down the gymnasium in her old high school, she did it to kill all the vampires who were inside it. Then she was kicked out. When asked about what happened, why she burned it down… she told us about the vampires, and we didn't believe her. So we…"

"Had her institutionalized" said Major Carter, "you and your husband?"

"Ex-husband" said Joyce, "it was two weeks later that Buffy said she lied about everything and we moved to Sunnydale."

"Where I met my new Watcher" said Buffy, "Giles."

"This word 'Watcher'" said Daniel, "you've said that twice now, what is that?"

"They train Slayers in fighting vampires" said Buffy, "Merrick was the one who trained me the first time, then he died and Giles took over when I got to Sunnydale."

"And who controls these Watchers?" asked Teal'c.

"The Watchers Council" sad Buffy softly, "they're based in England, supposed to be some secret organization dedicated to protecting this world."

"But what they did" said Willow as she looked at Buffy, "some of the things they did to you… remember what happed when they took away your powers?"

"Will" said Buffy, "not here."

"No, Buff" said Willow, "they betrayed you, you told me so yourself later that night…. The night that they fired Giles because he decided to help you. Remember?"

"Willow?" asked Major Carter, "what happened?"

"The Council has this so called tradition" said Buffy as she looked at Willow and then at the Major, "they take away a Slayers power temporarily once they reach eighteen, and then they pit her against a dangerous vampire."

"What?" said Colonel O'Neill as he leaned forward, "and did you know about this?"

"Not until later" said Buffy as she looked at Joyce and then at the Colonel, "Giles admitted to injecting the serum into me during a trance, and…. I mean… it's not his fault and…."

"Excuse me?" asked the Colonel as he stood up and paced the floor before he looked at Buffy again, "he dosed you? Without your knowledge?"

"Colonel" said Joyce shaking her head as she tightened her hold on Buffy's hand, "this is why… the only people we have to turn to about this is the Council, and I don't trust them to look after the welfare of my daughter, or Faith. The both of them need protection, they need help to live their lives as normally as possible."

Tara was looking at the Colonel's reaction to everything that was said by Buffy earlier, and she was surprised at how genuine his emotions were. As she watched his aura, it changed from a multitude of colours reflecting his various emotions until heard about what the Council did. The blonde witch herself was surprised that an organization like that, an organization that was supposed to be saving the world, would treat one of its own like that… like she was disposable. She saw that the Colonel wasn't angry at Buffy, or at Joyce or Willow. Every time the Council or Giles' name was brought up, his aura would go bright red as if he was ready to literally explode. Inside she was smiling, she was wondering what sort of reaction he'd have when it was her turn to tell her story. Looking around the others at the table, she saw that the majority of them were shocked at what was being said… but for Teal'c, it seemed to Tara as if he was keeping his emotions in check as she glanced at him at times.

"Colonel" said the General, "sit down."

The Colonel then stopped his pacing and looked at the faces of Buffy, Tara who was simply looking down at the table and Willow who was holding Buffy's hand tightly along with Joyce. Taking a deep breath, the Colonel grabbed his seat and sat down.

"Buffy" said Daniel softly, "none of us here are blaming you for anything, but it is important for us to know if everything that happened to you was out of choice, or if it was forced on you."

"Mom" said Buffy as she looked at Joyce, "I wanna go home."

"Buffy" said Willow as she looked at her best friend, "it's time we told the truth about everything, they need to know.. they're helping me.. they can help you."

"Willow" said Buffy as she started to tear up, "not here, please."

"Buffy" replied Willow, "the Council never did anything good for you, they dosed you with drugs and you didn't even know about it.. come on. Even Giles found it inhumane and he went against they wishes and told you about what was going on, and they fired him for that."

"Willow" said Joyce,

"Mrs. Summers" said Willow, "the vampire came after you, they took away Buffy's powers and the vampire… the nutcase vampire came after you."

Willow then turned to Buffy and pleaded with her, "Please Buff, tell them."

"He told me that it was a test the Council had for Slayers" said Buffy softly, "it was meant to test my resourcefulness, wits and other stuff; instead of relying on my powers."

"And what would have happened if you died?" asked Colonel O'Neill softly.

"The next Slayer would have been called" said Buffy.

"Wait a second" said Major Carter, "if Faith's a Slayer.. then that would mean…"

"I died" said Buffy as everyone looked at each other, "I drowned while facing a vampire called the Master in my first year at Sunnydale. My friend saved me in time by giving me CPR though. But it was enough for the next Slayer to be called, Kendra. She died while… while fighting a vampire called Drusilla. She killed Kendra in cold blood and I was blamed for the murder."

"And then Faith was called" said Daniel as he sat up, "but if this line…. This invisible and apparently mystical Slayer line goes through you and then to Kendra, and then to Faith.. who was activated after Kendra died… then if you died during the test, it would have been a meaningless death."

"I… I'll be the first to admit that I'm not sure about that" said Joyce as she wiped the tears off Buffy's face and kissed her cheek, "when I first heard about all this Slayer business and Vampires… I freaked. I said some things I shouldn't have and…. well, it took me some time to get used to it."

"Ok" said General Hammond as he looked at Buffy, "now that we've got most of the things with Kendra Young and Ted sorted out, what about this run-in you had with the police about Alan Finch? The Deputy Mayor of Sunnydale?"

"Will" said Buffy softly as she glanced at the redhead sitting next to her, "was the Faith from the other reality good? Is she someone that our Faith could be?"

"Yes" said Willow.

"Faith asked me to help her Buffy" said Joyce, "if we don't then she will become like that damaged girl the other Faith told me about. I.. no, we need to help her."

"As I mentioned earlier, we ran a background check on her too" said General Hammond as she looked at Colonel O'Neill as he took a deep breath and sighed.

"What do you know about her?" asked General O'Neill as he looked at the group in front of him.

"Not much, to be honest" said Willow, "and I'm embarrassed to say that. I was jealous of how much time she was spending with Buffy doing their Slayer thing.. and well, I hated her… I said some things that… anyway, what I did and said didn't help Faith. I think that hurt her more."

"Wi.. Willow?" said Tara she looked at the redhead.

"I… I wasn't nice to her" said Willow as she looked down in embarrassment.

"Thanks for your honesty, Willow" said Colonel Carter as Willow simply nodded her head.

"Buffy" said Daniel, "you said earlier that Faith is in the coma because you put her there, what did you mean?"

"It started… I mean everything started after that time in the alley" said Buffy as she looked at Willow who was looking back at the blonde in confusion.

"Which alley?" asked Willow as she looked at Buffy.

"The one where Faith and I fought Balthazar's vampire minions" said Buffy as she avoided looking at Willow and Joyce, "the night when Faith… oh God.."

Tara sensing that Buffy was being tortured by her memories sought to ease her burden by reaching out a hand and holding on to the Slayer's hand tightly. Surprised, Buffy turned to the blonde witch who had given her a small smile. Buffy then turned back to face the members of SG1 and the General, before she turned to Willow who was sitting next to her mother.

"Buff?" said Willow as she looked at the wetness that started gathering in Buffy's eyes, "what's going on?"

"What did the other Willow tell you about what happened with Faith?" asked Buffy.

"She told me that Finch was an accident" said Willow, "and then she showed me the important parts of her life. She told me that she didn't want me to live her life, that she was showing me just enough to inspire me.. but that I had to make my own choices from here on out."

Buffy then wiped a tear that fell down her cheek before wrapping her arms around herself before turning to Willow again.

"I never told you everything about what happened that night" said Buffy as she looked at Buffy and then at Joyce, "please don't hate me."

"Never" said Joyce as she ran her hand through Buffy's hair, "I could never hate you, honey."

"Buffy" said the Colonel as he noticed how tortured Buffy seemed, "everything you say here, will remain just between us."

Buffy nodded her head as she looked down at the briefing room table before looking at Willow again.

"You told me that Faith murdered Finch in cold blood" said Willow.

"Will" said Buffy, "I…. I didn't tell you everything. I mean I…. I just didn't want you to hate me. You were so angry at me for hanging out with Faith that I thought if I told you the truth about what happened that night.. that you'd hate me too."

"Hate you?" asked Willow worried as she looked at Joyce, Tara and then everyone else, "Buff, you're not making any sense."

"I still play it in my mind every single day" said Buffy as she looked at Willow, "every night, every single day, every minute of every day until I told myself that I had no part to play in what happened. That it was all Faith.. she was the one who jammed the stake through his chest so she was the one responsible."

"Buff" said Willow as her eyes opened wide, "what are you saying?"

"I still see, Willow" said Buffy as she held herself tightly with Joyce putting her hand around the Slayer's shoulder and holding her close, "I still see Faith and I dusting some vampires just before we walked around a corner. I was leading when someone put his hands on my shoulder from the shadows. Will…. We just finished fighting vampires… we were still charged…. We thought…. Oh God… I thought he was a vampire…. We were fighting so many and this guy just put his hands on me out of nowhere and I lost it. I thought it was another vampire ambushing us, so I grabbed his hand and pulled him out from where he was standing. Then I pushed him violently against the dumpster and he slipped onto the ground. By the time I realized that he wasn't a vampire, that he was human, it was too late. I remember screaming, 'Faith, no' but the stake had already gone through his heart."

"Oh Buff" said Willow as she got off her seat and ran towards Buffy who kept on looking at her hands.

"There was blood, Will" said Buffy as Willow crouched in front of her, "I tried to wipe it off but…. Angel, I mean Angel met me a few minutes later. I guess he knew something must have happened when he saw the blood but…. Will… I.. I'm sorry. Please, don't hate me."

"Buff" said Willow as she hugged the tearful blonde.

"I pushed him hard" said Buffy into the redhead's shoulder, "and Faith staked him. Maybe if I wasn't so charged after fighting, maybe if I had realized a split second sooner then maybe… maybe things could be different. The both of us did it."

"Buffy" said Joyce, "is that exactly what happened?"

"Yea" said Buffy softly as she looked at Willow and then at the floor.

"Miss Summers" said the General as he looked at the surprised faces of Colonel O'Neill, Daniel, the Major and Teal'c, "does this Watcher know what happened?"

"He knows that Faith put a stake through his heart" said Buffy as she slowly looked up at the General, "he said that the Council has plans for things like this… that innocents die in a war. But we didn't want to tell anyone yet. But another Watcher, Wesley… he must have overheard because later he and some members of the Council took Faith away by force. My boyfriend and I, we wanted to help her since.. I mean… she put the stake through his heart and…. I put all the blame on her. She…. must have felt so betrayed. The Council took her away against her will…. And later she ended up with our enemy."

"I see" said General Hammond, "and this enemy?"

"The Mayor" said Buffy, "he was planning for something called the ascension."

Tara looked at Willow and then at Buffy, she had heard of ascension… the process whereby human become one of the pure demons, the Old Ones. She just couldn't believe that the Mayor of Sunnydale was involved in such a process. She then looked at the General and SG1, and notioned the looks that they were giving each other in confusion.

"Buffy" said Daniel, "what do you mean ascension?"

"Ma… may I answer?" asked Tara nervously as Buffy and the other looked at the blonde, "as…ascension is the process where a normal human be… becomes a pure de…. Demon, an Old One."

"I see" said Daniel as he looked at every one.

"Faith killed someone while she was working for the Mayor" said Willow, "and she tried to mystically kill Buffy's boyfriend."

"The other Willow told me something about that" said Joyce as she looked at both Buffy and Willow.

"The only way to save his life was for him to drain a Slayer" said Buffy softly.

"I see" said Major Carter, "and your boyfriend was a vampire? I take it?"

"Yes" said Joyce, "he was, he's gone now."

"Mom" said Buffy.

"So this mystical poison?" asked Daniel.

"Right" said Willow, "he needed to drain a Slayer, and… I….. I was one of the people pushing for Buffy to kill Faith to save Angel."

"I see" said Joyce as she leaned back and looked at the table, "and you didn't succeed?"

"No" said Buffy, "I went to her apartment, the one that the Mayor had given her to kill her… I had every intention of killing her and bringing her body back to Angel. I fought her, we nearly destroyed the apartment before I stabbed her. And she smiled, she smiled and jumped off the roof onto a truck. After that, she was in a coma."

"Did this Giles know about all this?" asked General Hammond.

All Buffy could do was looked at the table and then at Joyce who was still holding onto her hand tightly. She noticed that the older blonde woman never let go off her hand and that reassured her somewhat that she'd be alright.

"Miss Summers" said General Hammond, "what you told me, if true sounds more like a friendly fire incident. From what I've heard and read from Captain Rosenberg's report, you've been fighting a war….. a war it seems with scant support from any higher authority. There's something I'd like for you to know… all of you."

At hearing his word, Tara, Buffy and Willow looked at the bald man as he spoke again.

"People will die in a war, innocent will die in a war" said the General, "when Willow starts going through the Stargate on missions after graduation, there will come a point that even she'll even have to kill an enemy to protect this planet.. I won't sugar-coat that. Its real life and it will happen. She'll see friends die, she'll mourn their loss, and eventually move on. The same goes for you, what happened in that alley sounds more like an accident than anything. I'd say that you weren't given the proper support in the aftermath of what happened, and I believe that with what you told me this Council did later on…. It would have treated you the same way as it treated Faith."

"Buffy" said Colonel O'Neill as Buffy looked up at him, "I don't like it that you've been fighting since you were fifteen, I really don't… in fact, if I had the one in charge of all this I'd give him a piece of my mind."

"As would I" said Teal'c, "as would SG1."

"I'll talk to the President about this Watchers Council" said General Hammond, "and in the mean time, I'd like to make you an offer."

"An offer?" asked Buffy as she looked at the General in surprise, "what kind of offer?"

"We can provide you with support" said the General, "mostly I would have to do with training you properly, and having you see a counsellor."

"But…" said Buffy.

"Ta… talking ab… about things hel.. helps" said Tara as she looked down at the floor and glanced at Buffy and Willow.

"Tara's right" said Daniel as he looked at the nervous girl, "talking about things help, especially with what happened."

"When Faith wakes up" said General Hammond, "we'll be talking to her as well."

"I'll keep visiting her in the hospital" said Joyce as General Hammond nodded his head.

"And" said the General as he looked at Buffy, "I'd like to extend an offer for you to join the academy as well. It is completely your choice if you decide to accept it. As for the training, I can have the trainer work with your watcher to come up with a suitable schedule for you to follow. However, I'm afraid the counselling sessions are non-negotiable. Whether you decide to join the academy or not, you will have to see a counsellor. I'll have the resident councillor at the SGC write up some recommendations of suitable counsellors who we'll vet before granting them clearance. Or I can have the counsellor here, travel to Sunnydale one a week to just talk to you."

"Buffy" said Joyce, "that sounds like a good plan."

"I…. I…" said Buffy as she looked at Willow and then at Joyce.

"Buff" said Willow, "we can graduate together."

"I… I still have to make up for what happened with Faith" said Buffy, "I accept your offer of the training, but I need to bring her up to speed. But she needs to be trained as well."

"I'll be offering that to her as well" said General Hammond.

"I… I'm asking for a year" said Buffy, "give me one year, and then I'll join. I need Faith to know that I made a mistake as well, that I trust her to take over for me. And the best thing to do that would be o work together for some time, get a feel for each other… I mean, if that's possible."

"I'll start the paperwork then" said General Hammond as he turned to Colonel O'Neill, "Jack, maybe you could show Willow, Mrs. Summers, Buffy and Tara around the mountain before taking them to lunch?"

"Yes, sir" said the Colonel.

"Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg, Tara Maclay" said Teal'c, "would you join me for a meditation session before we break for the afternoon meal."

"Sure" said Willow as she grinned at Buffy and Tara who nodded their heads.

"So I guess it's just Mrs. Summers and me" said the Colonel.

"Sure" said Joyce, "I'd like to see what fancy things you have here."

"Carter?" asked the Colonel, "care to show us the new doo-hickeys you have stored all over the place."

"Sure" said the Major, "this way."

As Joyce, Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were walking away; Daniel was glancing at Tara and thinking about what he had read in her background file, and that the Colonel had asked him to talk to her about it discreetly.

"Tara" said Daniel, "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a little while?"

"Su… sure" said Tara before she turned to Willow and Buffy, "se… see you guys soon?"

"Sure" said Willow and Buffy before they walked away with Teal'c.

"Tara" said Daniel after everyone had left the briefing room, "you know, I've never really liked it down here, how'd you like to look at the best view in all of Colorado Springs?"

"O… Ok" said Tara nervously.

"This way then" said Daniel as they walked towards the primary elevator shaft, and then the walked outside the mountain and up the trail to the observation platform on the top of the mountain.

"Wow" said Tara as she held on to the railing and looked at trees as far as the eyes could see before looking back at Daniel, "yo.. you ran a… a check on me too."

"Yes" said Daniel as he leaned against the railing, "I figured that you hadn't told Willow or the others, but I thought you should know that when we ran a check on you… we also received a missing person's bulletin."

"Oh" said Tara in surprise.

TBC.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Cheyenne Mountain, Viewing Platform, 1230 hours…**

Tara was looking in surprise at Daniel after he had revealed that there was a missing persons bulletin out for her. Daniel had already told her, Willow, Buffy and Joyce earlier in the briefing room that they ran deep background checks on everyone. However, Tara could never have expected there to be someone filing a missing persons report on her. Her legs trembling, she almost fell over which was when Daniel quickly ran to her side and gently helped her to sit down on one of the benches on the platform. As Daniel helped her down, he saw that she was holding onto her knees extremely tightly, while she hung her head down and had her hair fall down in front of her face.

"Tara?" said Daniel softly as he saw the young woman start panting and sweating uncontrollably, "Tara, I need you to listen to my voice… Tara."

All Tara could do was close her eyes and shake her head as time seemed to slow down, she could hear herself take deep breaths, her rapid heartbeats and a voice in the distance.

'Willow' thought Tara to herself, 'where are you? I need you.'

"Tara?" said Daniel softly as he crouched in front of the girl who looked like she was going to breakdown at any moment and gently placed his hands on top of hers trying to reassure her, "Tara, I need you to look at me.. can you do that?"

Tara could hear a voice in front of her, a male voice speaking calmly and softly, asking her to just look at him. Slowly nodding her head, the blonde woman slowly opened her eyes as she looked down at two hands resting in hers.

"Tara?" said Daniel softly.

"Dr….. Dr. Jackson" said Tara softly, "sor… sorry…. Bu.. but I…. I'd…"

"Tara" said Daniel, "please call me Daniel, I know what I said just now was out of left field.. and if I'd known that it would have caused this reaction. Then I wouldn't have even brought it up. I am sorry."

Tara nodded her head as she slowly got her breathing under control as Daniel sat next to her and looked out at the view of the trees while Tara calmed down. It was fifteen minutes later that Daniel noticed Tara glancing at him, and when he'd turn his head and look at her, the blonde would look at the ground again. Wanting to break the silence, Daniel was the one who spoke first. He needed to build some trust with the young woman since he suspected from the police records that her home life must have been a living hell, and she must fear her brother and father so much that she almost suffered a breakdown. He knew that the only way for her to open up to him was to gain her trust, and that meant opening himself to her.. someone he had just met. However for some reason that he couldn't explain, Daniel knew that he'd be able to trust this young woman.

"I can't imagine how your life must have been like after your mom passed away" said Daniel as he looked at Tara who was still hanging her head down, "I can't even imagine what you and your mom must have gone through when she was alive."

Daniel saw her give a small nod but she avoided looking at him. Instead, he gently rested his hand on top of hers and kept talking.

"When I was eight years old" said Daniel as he looked out at the trees, "I saw both my mom and dad killed in front of my eyes."

Upon hearing what Daniel had said, Tara slowly looked over at Daniel while he remained looking out into the distance. Immediately she knew that it wasn't a ploy from Daniel to get her to talk to him based on some lie that others would usually tell someone to gain their trust, Tara could actually see that it hurt the older man to talk about it.

"They were in the New York Museum of Art setting up an Egyptian exhibit" said Daniel, "a capstone that they were trying to get into place fell and crushed them. They died instantly."

"I…. I'm… sor… sorry" said Tara as she looked down again.

"I had a grandfather" said Daniel, "Nicholas Ballard, an archaeologist who could have taken me in."

"B… but h… he… didn't?" asked Tara softly.

"No" said Daniel shaking his head, "he was too wrapped up in his own career, and I ended up in foster care."

"Oh" said Tara.

"Eventually I got out of the system" said Daniel, "got into the University of Chicago, got my doctorates in Archaeology like my dad, and linguistics like my mom. Then it all went downhill from there."

"I… I.. see" said Tara.

"My theory on aliens having built the pyramids as landing pads for spaceships made me the laughing stock of the scientific community" said Daniel as he gave a small smile.

Tara noticing that smile as she glanced at the smiled was confused.

'Why would he be smiling if his life was breaking down all around him?' thought Tara to herself.

"You know what they say right?" asked Daniel as he looked at Tara, who quickly looked back down at the ground, "one door closes, and another one opens?"

"Ye… yes" said Tara softly.

"One did open" said Daniel, "but I never knew about it until one day when I was giving a lecture on my theory. Tara, vy that time I had nothing. No money, no home, all my friends… or so-called friends hung up on me when I need them the most.. until I met Catherine Langford. She read my theories and approached me with an offer, an offer to translate ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs on a coverstone they found on a dig in Egypt."

"Th… the Stargate" said Tara as Daniel nodded his head.

"Yes" replied Daniel as he hung his head low, "it opened an adventure of a lifetime for me, and it also led to one of my greatest lows since the death of my parents."

"Wh… what hap… happened?" asked Tara.

"Remember I told you that I had met someone on Abydos? Sha're, my wife" asked Daniel, "it was during the time that Sam was showing Willow the Gate?"

Tara nodded her head.

"What I didn't say" said Daniel sadly, "was that she was taken by one of our enemies called Apophis, her brother was kidnapped as well. After she was taken, we found out that she become host to Apophis' queen, Amonet."

"I… I'm sorry" said Tara as she slowly looked at Daniel, "is… is she st… still alive?"

"Yes" said Daniel, "she recently had Apophis' child, and now she's in hiding."

"Ho… hope drives you?" asked Tara.

"Yes" said Daniel as he turned to Tara, "I have hope that we can save her, and remove the symbiote. We've met allies know as the Tok'ra who are working against the Goa'uld who can remove symbiotes. All we need to do is get Sha're to them and she'll be safe."

"I… I see" said Tara.

"I… I just wanted you to know one thing, Tara" said Daniel as Tara looked at the older man, "everyone here in the mountain is like family. We look after our people, and we'll move heaven and hell to protect them."

"Bu… but" said Tara, "the.. there's n… no one prot… protecting you" said Tara nervously, "I… I… my father… he.. he… say's that… that I'm a demon."

"I see" said Daniel softly as he looked at Tara, "and what's his proof?"

"Huh?" said a very surprised Tara as she looked at Daniel, "he… he.. said so."

"Tara" said Daniel as he crouched in front of her again, "what did he tell you?"

"My… my magic" said Tara as she avoided Daniel's eyes, "it… it's dem… demonic in nature. Demons are… are the source of.. of my power."

"You're a witch?" asked Daniel, "like what Willow is? And what Captain Rosenberg said she used to be?"

"Ye.. yes" said Tara as she immediately looked down at the ground again, "I.. I'm sorry."

"Why?" asked Daniel confused.

"I.. I shouldn't be.. be here" said Tara as she slowly stood up, "I.. I.. should go."

Daniel looked at the tears that were already welling up in Tara's eyes, and his heart broke for the blonde. To him, it seemed that all the years of her father's emotional abuse broke her… that all her nervousness and insecurity could be traced to those moments.

"Tara" said Daniel as she turned away from him, "we didn't report you to the authorities."

Tara stiffened after what Daniel had said. It was something that she couldn't believe, she was sure that they had to inform the police or somebody that she had been found.

"We wanted to talk to you" said Daniel as he walked around Tara and stood in front of her with his hands in his pockets, "we've read the police reports, and the witness reports. We know that you're father emotionally and verbally abuse you. We don't know if he did the same things to your bro…."

"He… he was in.. involved" said Tara as she closed her eyes.

"Oh" said Daniel as he realized the full scope of what Tara was trying to say. Everyone had thought that both children were abused by the father, but instead it turned out that both the father and son had abused Tara, "did they… I mean, did they do anything physical?"

"Huh?" asked Tara as she looked up and shook her head, "no.. no, my.. mother was a po.. powerful wi… witch herself. My father wou.. would say that demon's blo.. blood ran through the.. the.. fe.. females of the family. That when we.. we turn twenty.. we… we be.. become demons."

"What did your mom say?" asked Daniel softly as he reached for Tara's hands as they were clenched together so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

"She wou.. would tell me at.. at night that we.. we are who we chose to be" said Tara as she glanced up at Daniel, "bu… but she knew… she knew that it.. it was her time."

"What do you mean?" asked Daniel.

"She.. she told.. told me that it would be her time to go" said Tara nervously as she physically tried to prevent herself from stuttering by clenching her fists, "th… that I.. I.. would have to be… Be strong. She said that once.. once I was eighteen… that.. that I.. I had to leave. She… she left some mo.. money for me in… in an account my.. my dad didn't know about. She… she gave me the information and… her last words to me were 'I love you'. The next day, I… I… saw her body."

Daniel pulled Tara in close slowly to give the blonde girl a hug as she started to cry on his shoulder.

"Tara" said Daniel as he rubbed circles on her back to comfort the younger girl, "I can't attest to if you are a demon or not; right now, all I can tell you is that your mother's right. The power you have isn't what defines who you are, what defines you is whether you use that power for good, or for evil. The same goes for Willow, Buffy and Faith."

"I.. I…" said Tara as she released Daniel and stepped back nervously and saw the green BDU with wet patches on the shoulder, "I'm sorry, I.. I ruined your shirt."

"This old thing?" asked Daniel as he looked at the wet patch, "it's nothing."

"I… I sh… should tell Will.. Willow" said Tara nervously.

"Have you thought about joining up with the Academy?" asked Daniel, "or going to school here in Colorado Spring? I mean since Willow's going to be here, wouldn't it be better if you were in the same city? It's easier having a relationship and all."

"Huh?" said a surprised but blushing Tara, "I… I.. don't know wha… what you're talking about."

"I won't say a word" smiled Daniel as he made a motion of zipping his lips, "just something I noticed when we were having dinner last night. Don't worry, Jack and Sam didn't see anything…. And as for Teal'c, well… I wouldn't be surprised if he noticed the same glances as I did. He won't say anything either. But when she's in the Academy, you need to be careful."

"I… I read up on that" said Tara nervously, "I.. I'll be careful."

"So" said Daniel, "Academy or University of Colorado?"

"I… I.. was thinking about the.. the university here" said Tara nervously, "I mean… I… I read that the Art History program is good."

"I know one of the professors there" said Daniel, "I can introduce you to her if you want. Personally, I'd go for the Anthropology department, but then again.. I'm kinda biased."

Tara couldn't help but look up and smile at the man who was standing in front of her. Both her father and older brother had told her that every man would eventually her for what she really was, a demon in both body and soul. However, ever since meeting Willow in Sunnydale, Giles and Xander were the first men to break her idea of how men would treat her if she went out into the world and now, this man in front of her and his friends further broke the Maclay patriarch's hold on her.

"I… I'll like to give both a shot" said Tara as she gave Daniel a small smile, "bu.. but my father. I… I.. don't know what to do about him."

"You're an adult now who voluntarily left home" said Daniel, "I'd suggest you call the police department where the report was filed to let them know you're alright. They may send someone to interview you but they won't give your whereabouts or location to your father or brother without your permission. From what I understand, they're only entitled to know that you're safe… not where you are."

"Oh" said Tara.

"If you don't feel comfortable calling them on your own" said Daniel, "I'll be there with you when you do make that call. So will Jack, Sam and Teal'c."

"You… you'd do that?" asked Tara surprised, "I mean you barely know me."

"I told you, Tara" said Daniel as he led her down the trail, "the SGC takes care of its own, speaking of which… how would you like a job?"

**Mess Hall, 1245 hours, SGC.**

Colonel O'Neill and Joyce were now the only two people left in the Mess Hall after Major Carter had to leave for an emergency involving one of her experiments. However, she had told the Colonel ans Joyce to go ahead for lunch as she had no idea how long it would take to fix the problem. Once the Major had left the Mess Hall, Joyce found herself alone with Colonel O'Neill. Sitting in an uncomfortable silence, she started to look around at the grey-ness of the entire room. What surprised her more was that the Mess Hall was empty during what was supposed to be lunch time.

"Most of the teams are off-world on missions" said the Colonel as Joyce looked at him surprised.

"You can read minds?" smiled Joyce.

"Nope" said the Colonel, "just used the old O'Neill noggin' to guess that you were wondering why there weren't too many people here during lunch time."

"Get a lot of civilians here, I take it?" said Joyce as she took a sip of coffee.

"Not always" said the Colonel, "I mean we have civilian contractors like Daniel who work here, but I think you're the first civilian-civilian we've had in here for the past six months or so?"

"Ah" said Joyce grinning, "I feel special."

"This is a special place" said the Colonel as he looked around.

While the Colonel was looking around, Joyce just looked at him before taking another sip of the coffee and putting the cup on the table.

"Colonel" said Joyce, "do you really think Willow will make it?"

"I have every confidence" said the Colonel as he looked at Joyce, "Carter just showed her a partial glimpse into her future. I think she'll excel in the Academy. As will Buffy when she eventually joins."

"Thank you" said Joyce much to the Colonel's surprise, "thank you for agreeing to help them."

At that, the Colonel could only smile and nod at Joyce.

"I.. I know I mentioned it to you earlier" said Joyce as she leaned forward, "you know, about Faith having been put into a hospital in Sunnydale. I know it's too much to ask but is there anything you could do to protect her? I mean so that the Council doesn't try to get to her? And, I've visited her in her hospital room… they gave her one of the rooms in the basement as if she's someone who can be thrown away. There's also one more thing, the Council know that I've been at the hospital to see her."

"I see" said the Colonel as his demeanour suddenly changed, "have you been in contact with any of them?"

"I don't know who it is at the hospital who works for them" said Joyce, "all I know is that Giles told me that they are asking questions. And I… well, I kind of told Giles to give them a message from me."

"Oh?" asked the Colonel with an eyebrow raised, "what kind of a message?"

"Basically I told his to tell them that I'll see Faith if and when I please" said Joyce, "that I'll tell you who she really was, that you'd protect her and Buffy.. that if they come after me or Buffy, or if Faith mysteriously dies while in the coma.. that they'll get what's coming to them."

"Mrs. Summers" said the Colonel, "I really like the way you think."

"Thank you" said Joyce as she nodded her head, "even Giles agreed to this course of action."

"I see" said the Colonel as he leaned back on his chair.

"Colonel" said Joyce as she noticed the Colonel's hand clenching as she talking about Giles, "I know what Giles did was wrong, in fact.. I… I mean.."

"Mrs. Summers" said the Colonel, "from what Buffy told us, he's been training her to fight these things. While I'd commend him for training Buffy to fight, it's something that I'm at the same time against. I've seen too many children lose their lives, minds and bodies to war. Doesn't matter if it's against vampires and demons here, or in a conventional war in some far away country. What the Council has done, with this whole Slayer business is something I find cruel and abhorrent to me on a personal level. I say that, even knowing that a Slayer exists to kill all the things that we used to think appears in our nightmares. I will have words for this Giles person should I ever meet him, you can count on that."

"I.. I understand" said Joyce.

"Children should enjoy their childhood" said the Colonel as he leaned back and looked at a spot on the table, "if they don't enjoy it, then it could be gone the next day. Just like that."

Joyce noticed how quiet the Colonel had gotten when he finished talking about children, and could guess that something must have happened to someone close in his life. Deciding not to push the issue any further, Joyce picked up her coffee cup and took another sip before leaning back on her seat.

"Decent coffee" said Joyce as she looked at Colonel O'Neill who was still looking at the table.

"It's not too bad" said the Colonel as he looked up and smiled at Joyce just as Daniel and Tara walked into the Mess Hall.

"Danny-boy" said the Colonel, "ready for lunch?"

"Yeah" said Daniel as Tara sat next to Joyce, "where's Teal'c, Sam, Buffy and Willow?"

"They'll be meeting us here in ten minutes" said the Colonel as he looked at his wristwatch.

"Everything alright?" asked Joyce as she held Tara's hand tightly.

"Yes" said Tara as she looked at Joyce and then at a smiling Daniel, "I think everything will be alright."

TBC.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Giles' Apartment, Sunnydale, 1700 hours.**

Giles sat down on his couch a few minutes after having spoken with Joyce over the phone. Joyce had told him that she, Willow and Tara were already at the Colorado Springs airport and that they would be boarding the plane in thirty minutes. After talking with the elder blonde woman, he spoke with an excited Buffy who told him the news about her being offered to join the Academy. She told him that although he wasn't able to know everything, it would be in the same work that Willow would eventually be doing. Turning the phone back to Joyce, Giles heard that Willow was staying with Major Carter at her home while until Willow joined the Academy and stayed in the dorms. Just before he finished talking, Giles asked to speak to Tara. Once Joyce handed the phone to the blonde girl who was standing next to Buffy, Giles had asked her how she was taking things. Her answer was something that Giles suspected, that she would miss Willow and that she would be applying for a transfer to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to be closer to the redhead. Smiling into the phone, Giles took off his glasses and told Tara that everything would be alright… that they would help her get through the next few months before she needed to leave for a new life in Colorado.

After he sat down on the couch after talking with Tara, and then Joyce again, he reached for his phone once again. Dialling Xander's number, he spoke to the young man and asked him to come over… that they needed to talk about something's Joyce had told him. Something's that could change everything, including the way that the Scooby gang would operate.

It was about thirty minutes later that both Xander and Anya knocked on his door. Smiling as he let the couple into his home, Giles offered them some tea and biscuits which Anya gladly accepted. After Giles made the tea and brought the biscuits to his coffee table, Xander was the first one to open his mouth and ask how Willow was doing.

"Joyce said that she's doing alright" said Giles, "she had a look at what she'll be working with at NORAD; and Joyce told me that Willow's really excited about it."

"Who wouldn't be" said Anya as she popped a biscuit into her mouth, "I mean alien technology? Did you ever know that in my one thousand years, I never even thought that there could be life on other worlds?"

"Really?" asked Giles, "I would have thought that, as a demon, you'd know these things."

"I guess no one expected it?" said Anya excitedly, "and what that other Willow said about ships… if that's true, then damn."

"So" said Xander nervously, "is Willow coming back with Mrs. Summers, Buffy and Tara?"

"She's staying there Xander" said Giles, "she brought everything she needs with her to Colorado Springs, and she'll be staying with that officer who helped save her… Major Carter."

"Oh" said Xander, "and Buffy?"

"They offered Buffy a place in the Academy as well" said Giles as he picked up his glasses from the table and wiped them with a white cloth, "she told them that she'd like a year, and within that time if Faith wakes up.. then she'll train her and eventually pass the torch over to her."

"Oh" said Xander as he looked down on the floor sadly, "she's going to be gone too, huh?"

"Possibly" replied Giles as he looked at the downcast look of the young man sitting across from him, "however, this organization that Willow will be working for has promised resources in the fight against vampires and monsters."

"Are they really equipped for that?" asked Anya, "I mean some of these things can be tough to fight."

"Which is why they'll be providing training for both you, and Xander" said Giles as Xander looked up at him confused, "and I know that you're asking yourself 'why me?'"

"Umm… yeah" said Xander.

"It was apparently this Colonel O'Neill's idea" said Giles as he leaned back into his couch, "Buffy told him about her being a Slayer… that her job is to fight the darkness. She also told him, and his friends, that you and Anya have been helping her during patrols and in combat."

"They plan to use Buffy as a weapon?" asked Xander.

"They want to train her" said Giles, "from what Joyce told me, they see the usefulness of her abilities.. but she still needs to be properly trained. Especially in the use of firearms."

"She hates guns" said Anya as she reached for another biscuit, "at least that's what I remember her saying once."

"Yeah" said Xander looking at Anya before he turned to Giles, "but what about me? I mean I still have military guy's memories.. do I really need training?"

"It's one thing to have the memories, Xander" said Giles, "it's quite another to know how to use them properly."

"But Slayers already know how to fight once they're activated, don't they?" asked Anya, "I mean at least that's what I've heard."

"Yes" said Giles, "there is an innate knowledge of all the past Slayers that are passed down the line, but a Slayer still has to be trained in how to use that knowledge to survive. And you have to remember that Buffy broke the mould, usually Slayers would have died in their first year.. she only survived because of her friends… because of us."

"So training?" asked Anya, "why do I have to do it? I mean Xander can protect me."

"Not all the time" replied Giles, "besides, with Buffy gone when Faith does indeed wake up… she'll need us as well."

"And then there's Faith" said Xander, "is everyone forgetting that she tried to help the Mayor; you know, the one that turned into a huge snake demon thing, take over the world. The only reason he failed was because we kicked his ass."

Giles and Anya then just simply stared at Xander as they stopped chewing their food.

"Ok" replied Xander, "so he didn't have an ass, but my argument is still valid. She tried to end the world, Giles."

"The truth is" said Giles, "we don't really know a lot about Faith, and the Council is pretty useless in keeping a dossier on the Slayers. The only thing we have to go on are the Watcher's Diaries and unfortunately, Faith's Watcher… Diana Dormer.. was killed. So there's very little on her background, at least as far as information that's open to me. This would be the moment where Willow's hacking ability would have been useful though."

"Can't the Air Force get some information on her?" asked Anya.

"Joyce gave me the number for Colonel O'Neill" said Giles as he stood up, walked to a side table and grabbed a piece of paper with a number written on it, "he should be able to get some information, although Joyce indicated that he may not be entirely friendly with me at first."

"Why?" asked Xander.

"He doesn't like the fact that Buffy, and most of the other Slayer's before her, was activated at such a young age" said Giles as he sat back down, "then, according to Joyce, he was furious when he found out about the Cruciamentum."

"You mean the time when you took away Buffy's powers without her knowledge?" asked Xander innocently as Giles frowned at him.

"Yes" said Giles nodding his head, "and if you may recall, I got fired for telling Buffy what I was doing to her. And you know that it's one of the many things about the Council that I feel is backwards, and cruel."

"Maybe you should tell this O'Neill person that" replied Anya, "you know… that you were against it from the start."

"I still did it" said Giles, "I accept the responsibility, and as far as I'm aware… Buffy's forgiven me for that… I doubt she'll forget it, though. But the fact is that I'll have to work with this man and whoever will be training all of you. The Air Force will be coming up with a training schedule for you, and I'll have to draw one up and give it to whoever's training Buffy so that he, or she, could add to it."

"So you wont be personally training her?" asked Xander.

"I'll still be a part of it" said Giles, "but not as much as when she was in high school."

"Then it's not much different than the way it is right now" said Anya.

"True" replied Giles, "but the Council will be a problem."

"They don't like outsiders coming in, do they?" asked Xander.

"No" Giles shook his head, "they most certainly do not."

"Oh boy" said Anya.

"The Council has done everything on their own for thousands of years" said Giles, "and now to have the government involved…. I can tell that it would be a problem. They're very well connected politically and financially. I have a feeling that they'd cause problems for this organization."

"And Faith?" asked Anya as she looked at Giles.

"I'll be training Buffy in the morning tomorrow" said Giles, "and then when she's in class, I'll accompany Joyce to see Faith. Perhaps it's time that we start to get knowing her a bit better, and showing our support. Even while she's in her coma"

"You do remember that she tried to assault me" said Xander, "in bed… you know…"

"I thought you liked the handcuffs" said Anya, "I mean that's what you let me do…."

"Anya" said both Xander and Giles, "we don't need to know."

"I'm just saying" said Anya shrugging her shoulders as she leaned back onto the couch.

"Xander" said Giles, "I need you to visit her as well, I'm trying not to leave her alone as much as humanly possible. Joyce has told me that the Air Force would be able to transfer her to a better room, with better security… but she's not sure when that could happen. So I'd like for us all to be on guard."

"Me too?" asked Anya.

"Yes" replied Giles as the ex-vengeance demon nodded her head.

As Giles, Anya and Xander continued talking in the Watcher's home. No one was able to notice the van parked in the street, nor did anyone notice the driver wearing a pair of headsets connected to a small parabola dish that was aimed at Giles' home. The man then turned to the person sitting in the passenger side of the van.

"Contact Mr. Travers" said the man, "looks like we have a problem."

TBC.

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Watcher's Council, London, 0110 hours (London Time).**

Quentin Travers was the current head of the Watcher's Council of Great Britain, the organization that's been tasked for thousands of years with watching over and training Slayers, and those who have been deemed to be possible Slayers. As of the current moment though, he's a man leading an organization that is in-charge of no Slayers; following the Council's refusal to help the vampire with a soul known as Angel before the event known as the Ascension, the Slayer Buffy Summers let it be known through her new Watcher, Wesley Wyndham-Price that she was no longer taking any orders from them. Then there was Faith Lehane, the current Slayer that the line had gone through… to Travers, she had been categorized as a rogue Slayer. Someone who, once awakened, would be put on trail by the Watchers for murder and helping the previous Mayor of Sunnydale in his plans for Ascension.

As he sat on the large armchair in his office at the Council's London headquarters, Travers could only think about what could have been. His intention was to hold a kangaroo trial for Faith who would, with a majority of the Council's inner circle supporting him, be found guilty of crimes that would put the Council into disrepute. The man knew that with nearly every girl who could become a Slayer one day being watched in some fashion by the Council, Travers intended to have Faith put to death so that the line could continue on to the next girl. A girl that he intended to have under the total control of the Council. He intended the new girl to function as the Slayer has always functioned, alone… with no weaknesses such as friendships, or lovers, or family to pull her away from the mystical duty that a Slayer had been bound to do for thousands of years.

Once he had discovered that Faith was in a coma, Travers had put a Special Operations Team on standby in the L.A safe-house so that should Faith awaken, then they would swoop in after being notified by their informant inside the hospital; and then take her away. Travers knew that the team leader had scouted the docks, only to find that it would be ridiculously easy to bribe on of the ship captains to smuggle them on board. Then they could make other arrangements when they reached the destination. However, if all else failed, Travers gave the Special Operations team full authority to take out the target; in this case Faith, and anyone who helped her.

It was a little over two months ago that he received disturbing news from the Council informant, she had called headquarters during an important meeting that he was chairing. Annoyed, he picked up the phone only to find out that Joyce Summers… the mother of Buffy Summer had visited Faith. The thing that had worried Travers was that it was not the first time, he later found out that Joyce Summers had been visiting Faith at least three times a week. According to the informant, she would bring fresh flowers and even a fresh change of clothes for the girl in the coma should she wake up. The informant had told him that whenever she stepped into the room to change the bedding, or check Faith's vitals…. Joyce would always be holding her hand. She would even talk softly to Faith, only stopping when the informant walked into the room. For the next two months, he had been receiving reports about Joyce's comings and goings from the hospital and he had grown concerned. Then he received a call from his old friend, the Watcher…. Or at least to Travers he was known as the former Watcher to Buffy, Rupert Giles.

As Travers took a sip of scotch, he recalled the phone call he had with Giles a couple of days ago.

"What are you saying Rupert?" asked an incredulous Travers, "you are well aware, as I am, that the government…. No government on the planet has the capability of handling the creatures of the darkness. The Council has been watching over the Slayer and guiding her in her quest to make the world a better place without any governmental interference."

"Maybe it's time for that type of thinking to end, Quentin" said Giles as he sat on his couch after having seen of Joyce and the others at the Sunnydale airport, "I've told you that the ways of the Council are antiquated, it needs to move into the twenty first century."

"And would you have the Slayer become the weapon of any government?" asked Travers as he stood up in outrage, "the Slayer is not bound by governments, the Slayer is not bound by human laws. Instead, the Council will be the sole voice that the Slayer will live by."

"Quentin" said Giles, "I've told Joyce that you and the Council know about her going to visit Faith, she said that she'll continue to do it… she'll continue to see her if and when it pleases her. And I agree, she's not yours to control."

"It does not matter, Rupert" said Travers, "we do not care if Joyce Summers believes its her right to see Faith, or not. The end result is that no matter what she believes the supernatural… including the Slayers are our duty. Governments are aware of this; governments have given us free reign to look after the supernatural."

"That does not…." said Giles as Travers interrupted him.

"I have received news that the Slayer, Buffy Summers and Joyce Summers, as well as two friends are heading off to Colorado Springs" said Travers, "would you happen to know why?"

"Have you been following me?" asked an incredulous Giles as he stood up.

"Just answer the question Rupert" said Travers.

"Yes" said Giles, "Buffy's friend, Willow, she's been given a very prestigious offer.. and I told Buffy and Joyce to go with them. She went to meet some people from the Air Force, and Joyce will tell them about Faith and Buffy."

"What!" said Travers, "Rupert, that was not your call to make!"

"The both of them" said Giles as he smirked into the phone, "both Faith and Buffy will be under my charge, I have already asked Joyce to talk to the people from the Air Force about helping them. And Quentin, with their abilities…. I believe that the military would be able to give them a better future than you ever could…. Than I alone ever could."

"Rupert!" said Travers as he pressed a button on the phone on his table, "you don't know what you're doing."

"Joyce asked me to give you a message" said Giles, "if the Council comes near her or Buffy, the Air Force would be informed… if Faith happens to die while in the coma, then the Air Force will be informed. The Council has to change to remain relevant… the world has changed, Quentin. We need their support."

"We are the ones who support the Slayer" said Quentin, "not the military."

"And where the hell was the Council when the Mayor Ascended!" said Giles, "where were you then?"

"Miss Summers made her thoughts very clear" said Travers, "she didn't want to take orders, so…"

"So you and the Council decided that it would be better if she failed?" asked Giles, "and what if she had failed? What then? Faith was in a coma… and you know that a new Slayer can't be called until….." It was then that Giles opened his eyes wide as he made a realization in his mind.

"Oh my God" said Giles, "you never intended to put Faith on trial… even if you did, she would have been found guilty anyway and sentenced to death. Then when she died, the new Slayer would have been activated and you would have made sure that she would be placed under the Council's control. And she would have killed Olvikan."

"Those are your words, Rupert" said Travers calmly, "that's just supposition on your part.. you have no proof of anything."

"Did you know that it was Olvikan?" asked Giles, "did you know? Did Wesley know? Did you and the Council hide information from us because of a vendetta? Because Buffy made a decision?"

"Need I remind you, Rupert" said Travers, "the Council has information on every vampire, every demon… Miss Summers made the decision not to use our resources and…"

"That's just it" said Giles, "I don't think the military would have abandoned her just like that."

"We would have stopped Olvikan eventually" said Travers, "we knew he could have been killed once he ascended, and we could have used the new Slayer to kill him."

"And if the new Slayer died?" asked Giles, "If the new Slayer had died fighting Olvikan, then another one would have been called."

"Yes" said Travers.

"Quentin" continued Giles, "you're…."

"Remember old friend" said Travers calmly, "the Slayers are the weapons of the Council. The Slayers always change, but the Council will forever remain."

"And that's the problem" said Giles as he put the phone down and leaned back on his couch, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

Back in the present day, Travers put down his now empty glass and got off his armchair. He walked behind his large, intricately designed mahogany table and picked up his umbrella, and brown coat that was hanging on the back of his desk chair. HE then looked up when he saw lightning flashing across the London sky, followed by a loud clap of thunder just as someone knocked on his door.

"Yes, Rose" said Travers as his secretary walked into the room, taking the elderly man out of his thoughts and back into the real world.

"Mr. Travers" said Rose as she stepped into the large room, "you have a call from Sunnydale; it's Michael.."

"Thank you" said Travers as he picked up the phone on his desk, but not before looking back at his young secretary, "it is a little past one in the morning Rose, I would like for you to go home and rest."

"Thank you, Mr. Travers" said Rose as she opened the doors, before turning around again, "good night, Sir."

Nodding his head at Rose, Travers managed a small smile before the brunette young woman closed the doors to his office. He then pressed a button on his phone and put the receiver to his ear. Then he sat down and listened intently to Michael's report, particularly on the sections that mentioned alien technology and that one of the Slayer's friends was tapped by the Air Force to possibly word with said technology. Ever since that fateful conversation the day Willow and the others left for Colorado Springs, Travers had ordered a two man team to watch over Giles and Buffy, to record their movements and other pertinent information.

As he continued hearing the report, he became increasingly concerned.. particularly when Michael said that the Slayer indicated that she was offered a place in the Air Force Academy, and that she had asked for a year to get Faith up tp speed should she be out of her coma. The thought of having a rogue Slayer like Faith taking over for Buffy sent a shiver down his spine as he continued to listen to the report, the thought of another Slayer that would not listen to the Council was unheard off… a Slayer telling the Council that would not be taking orders from them was also unheard off. Travers knew that this had to be rectified, and rectified quickly.

"Michael" said Travers once the dark haired man had finished his report, "I want you to call Collins in L.A. Tell him to move to capture Faith on the authority of the Watchers Council. She is to be taken out of Sunnydale and brought to London. Tell him to get whatever paperwork he needs, and get it done by tomorrow."

"Yes Sir" said Michael, "and what about this whole situation with this so-called alien technology, and the Slayer being offered a place in the Academy?"

"Do not concern yourself" said Travers as he reached for a card codex, "I have contacts in the Department of Defence and the State Department, I am sure that they have an inkling of what's going on. In the meantime, I'd like for you to send people you trust follow this Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill."

"Standard background package, Sir?" asked Michael.

"Yes" said Travers, "these people are interfering where they shouldn't be, and I for one would like to know what authority they have to take away what is rightfully ours."

"And Miss Summers?" asked Michael, "would you like for us to send a message?"

"No" said Travers, "taking Miss Lehane should be more than enough. I feel Miss Summers still has the mind to realize that with Miss Lehane gone, she's the only one available to guard the Hellmouth. As for her training by the military? Let me take care of that, I'll use my aforementioned contact to put pressure on the Air Force to know their place… that the supernatural is not the domain of hunters, or the military. The Council is the only organization that is been destined to deal with these threats."

"Yes, Sir" said Michael, "and would you like for us to continue surveillance?"

"Yes" smiled Travers as he sat down.

**Sunnydale General Hospital, Special Wing, 0930 hours.**

Giles had been at the airport to pick up Tara, Buffy and Joyce after their plane landed at half past midnight that day. Following some excited babbling from Buffy about what kind of technology that Willow would be working with, the Watcher could see that the blonde Slayer… the one that he loved as he would a daughter, had finally made a decision for her future. Giles had suspected that Joyce and the others couldn't tell him everything; he knew that there were something's that were being hidden from him.

Joyce, who sat beside him while on the way back to her home, picked up on some vibes that Giles was giving off. She assured him that, while there were somethings that they couldn't tell him, Buffy and Willow were extremely excited about the prospects of eventually working together. Nodding his understanding, Giles smiled and continued driving with a renewed vigour of having Buffy and eventually Faith train together before the latter takes over.

It was that renewed vigour that prompted Giles to ask Joyce if he could follow her to see Faith at the hospital, and was glad when she agreed that it would be for the best if he could come as well. After all, eventually he would be one of the most important people in her life. As he passed the receptionist, Giles did a double take as he passed the blonde haired woman when he noticed her looking at both him and Joyce oddly. Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, he followed Joyce who was carrying a vase of fresh flowers into a room a few doors down.

Entering the room, he looked in surprise at Faith who still had wires on her body measuring her heart rate, her brain waves, oxygen and other medical needs.. but the thing that surprised him even more was how pale she looked. He mentally kicked himself when he saw Faith just lying there helpless, he had never even come to the hospital to see her even though he knew that she was hospitalized in Sunnydale General. The truth was that he didn't want to face up to the truth that he, and by extension the Council, had failed Faith on so many different levels. As he closed the door behind him, Giles saw that Joyce had held Faith's hand as she was talking to her about their day. She was telling Faith about going to Colorado Springs and that once she comes out of the coma, there'll be people who'll do their very best to look after her interests first.

Giles grabbed a chair and sat on the other side of the bed. He knew that it was time for a massive change, Slayers for so long had worked without support.. but now times were starting to change. He reiterated to himself that he wanted things to change as well, that the Council needed to understand that the Slayer was a human being.. not just a weapon. And he intended to begin that change now. He slowly reached into Faith's bed and held on to her hand. Looking at Joyce, he saw her nod and the small smile that she had given him as he held Faith's hand tightly.

So Giles leaned in closer to Faith's bed and spoke to her softly, hopeful that his voice would go through.

"Hello, Faith"

TBC.

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Sunnydale General Hospital, Special Wing, 1045 hours.**

Giles had been talking with the comatose Faith for the past hour or so, even after Joyce had left for work fifteen minutes ago. Giles remembered that she said she could call her gallery, have her assistant conduct that inventory that had to be done. Smiling, he then convinced Joyce that he'll stay with Faith since he didn't really have much to do. Officially fired from the Watchers Council, Giles knew that the only thing he could do was stay in his apartment and read through his books, or cook, or make tea… all he knew was that he needed to do something to keep himself busy. As he held the hand of the girl who he hope would be his new charge, he resolved to try and get to know her this time. Joyce smiled at Giles before she got up from her chair, she told him that she would be back in three hours. Nodding his head, Giles watched as Joyce walked out the door before he turned back to face Faith.

Then he leaned towards the comatose girl and started telling her stories of what happened after she fell to a coma, he even told her stories of the heroics and the deep flaws of the previous Slayers that he had carved into his own memory as a result of reading the diaries of various Watchers. He knew that telling Buffy all of the stories he knew by heart would probably cause her eyes to glaze over but he still made a mental note to try later in the evening. IN the meantime, he started telling stories of the previous Slayers to Faith.

It was around one in the afternoon that Giles grew hungry. Knowing that there was a vending machine somewhere on this floor the man got up, brushed the stray hairs away from Faith's forehead and quietly opened the door before taking another look back at Faith. He then stepped out into the brightly lit hallway and looked around before noticing the sign for the vending machine. What he failed to notice was that just after her closed the door to Faith's room, there was a beep from the machine that measured her brain activity and the fingers on her left hand… the hand that Giles was holding on to until a few moments ago twitched very slightly.

**U.C. Sunnydale, 1315 hours.**

Tara was rushing across campus for one of her classes as she ran as fast as she could. She had returned from Colorado Springs together with Buffy and Joyce early that morning. After having been picked up by Giles at the airport, the man then dropped both Buffy and Tara off at the dorms before heading towards the Summers Residence in one of the city's suburbs. Once Giles had driven away, Tara and Buffy looked at it other in surprise when they realized that the both of them actually lived in the same building.

"Hold on a sec" said Buffy as the both of them started to climb the stairs, "you live here?"

"Ye.. yes" said Tara with a smile, "I.. I.. moved here after Willow and I… you know… after we started dating."

"Oh" said Buffy surprised, "I didn't know that… I mean Willow didn't tell me anything. I'd remember that she wouldn't sleep in the room and when I asked her about it, she'd tell me that she was in the lab working on some project, or that she was in a group meeting for one of her engineering classes. I ever realized that she found someone else. I mean I should have but I was too… did Willow tell you about the people who kidnapped her?"

"Not everything" admitted Tara as she opened the door and walked into the lobby after Buffy, "I mean we talked after getting to Colorado Springs but I never asked about what happened… I… I could see aura's and whenever I brought up anything about the attempted kidnapping, she'd get upset and I'd stop myself. I figure that she'll tell me when she's ready."

"Oh" said Buffy as the both of them stopped at the stair leading up to the upper floors. She then looked up at Tara and gave the blonde witch a small smile, "I… I know you're missing Willow… and I am too. I.. I was wondering if you'd like to spend some time in Willow's.. I mean in my room. I mean I'm still Willow's roommate and, I know that you'll be leaving soon for Colorado at the end of this semester.. but I don't want to be alone right now.. so…. I was wondering.. I mean I know that we just met and we don't really know each other that well yet but….."

"I… I'd love to room with you" said Tara with a smile as she realized what Buffy was trying to say, "I… I miss her too, and I was wondering how I'd stay here without her in my life every day."

"I'd have to just give you one warning though" said Buffy, "I won't be in my room at night for some time, you know I'm the Slayer so I have to…. Well…"

"Slay?" asked Tara as she followed Buffy up the stairs and onto the second floor.

"Yea" said Buffy sheepishly as the both of them walked towards her room.

"Did Willow join you?" asked Tara once they reached room 214 and she opened the door.

"Sometimes" said Buffy as she stepped into the room followed by Tara. The blonde Slayer then closed the door and sat on her bed, "I mean we'd do patrolling together since high school, well…. I'd do it mostly by myself…. Xander and Willow would be doing the research. I guess since then I've always thought of Willow as the research girl… now that I think about what she'll have to do… what that alternate version of her had gone through… If we had trained together back then.. if I had been more supportive of her before she left, then maybe….."

"I'm proud of her" said Tara as she sat cross legged on Willow's bed, "she's doing something that she wants to do. It's something that not many people get a chance to do. She told me that Mr. Giles trained her well, and that Major Carter and the others would build on that training. She told me that you were the one who made her surer of herself, you helped her gain confidence since the day she met you in Sunnydale High."

"She did?" asked Buffy as she looked at Tara.

"Yes" said Tara, "it was a few days into our relationship and we were talking about our pasts. I admit that I didn't tell her a lot… nothing actually, about mine; but it didn't seem to bother her that much. But she then talked about you, Xander and Mr. Giles… about how you helped each other grow. I could see the excitement grow in her eyes every time she'd talk about you and the others."

Buffy smiled at Tara as the both of them spent the entirety of the early morning hours just simply talking about Willow, and then they talked about each other. Although Tara didn't tell Buffy about her background and her abuse, she did talk about her experiences with magic, her love for Willow and how she wanted to get to know Buffy and the others. She had spent the night in Buffy's room sleeping on Willow's bed when she and the blonde Slayer woke up with a start when Buffy's alarm had gone off. Tara realized that she had a class in thirty minutes, while Buffy had one at that same time. Smiling sheepishly, they each went their separate ways; Tara headed to her room in the fourth floor, and Buffy stepped into the shower after seeing Tara off.

Now, as Tara ran into the Arts building and headed towards the open door to her class, she ran into Buffy who looked at her in confusion before the both of them started to laugh outside the open door.

"You're in this class?" said the both of them together.

"Yea" said Buffy, "it's an elective for me… plus it seemed the easiest one that was open."

Buffy then looked at the questioning look on Tara's face.

"I kinda registered for my classes late" shrugged Buffy as Tara couldn't help but smile, "how come I haven't seen you in class?"

"I.. I usually sit way at the back" said Tara as she pointed at the back row of the large auditorium-like classroom.

"I'm usually at the front" said Buffy as Tara looked at her in surprise, "I do that so that I can leave the class quickly, you know… once it's over or in case there are…"

"Cases?" said a smiling Tara.

"Yeah" said Buffy, "wanna sit upfront with me? I swear it's all cool there."

"Su… sure" said Tara as the both of them walked past the door when suddenly Tara caught a glimpse of someone from the corner of her eye. Stooping, she walked back a few steps and caught a glimpse of a blonde woman in a white dress who walking around a corner into another different hallway.

"Tara?" asked Buffy as she looked back and saw that the blonde wasn't following her into the room, "Tara?" Buffy looked on concerned as Tara didn't answer her, instead she seemed to be looking down the hallway confused. The blonde Slayer then walked towards Tara as more students walked past them to get into the room.

"Hello?" said Tara as she saw the woman stop at the end of the long hallway which led into another one. Tara saw that the woman looked at her just for a moment, before she continued walking down the new hallway.

"Mom?" said Tara as her eyes teared up before she ran towards the woman, "mommy?"

"Tara" said Buffy as she ran after Tara as she stopped at the end of the hallway, "Tara, what's wrong…. Huh?"

Buffy reached the stunned Tara who was already at the end of the hallway. Standing next to the blonde witch, she saw a blonde woman with her back to them walk further into the hallway as the lights over her dimmed considerably. The both of them saw the woman turn around and look at them from the darkness of the hallway.

"Mommy?" said Tara as she wiped her tears that were falling down her face, "what… why…"

"She's coming" said the woman.

"Tara?" said Buffy as she looked at the younger blonde, "this is your mom?"

"It.. it cant be" said Tara, "my mom died…. She.. she… died."

"Tara?" asked Buffy as she looked at the trembling girl next to her as she slowly grabbed her hand and held on tight.

"Who are you?" asked Tara as she and Buffy took a step forward, with the woman taking a few steps back into the darkness, "you're not my mother. She died.. she's finally at peace."

"My name does not matter" said the woman, "all you need to know is that you must prepare yourselves. She will arrive at dawn, and then she will try to destroy the dawn and kill this world. Beware."

Then just as she arrived, Tara and Buffy watched the woman vanish in a bright flash of light. As the two of them stood in the hallway looking off into space in surprise, Tara suddenly grabbed her head as she fell over in pain. Buffy ran over to her concerned as their entire surroundings seemed to melt away leaving them in what looked like a funeral home.

"Tara?" asked Buffy as she looked around and saw people in black as they gathered around two coffins at one end of the room, "where are we?"

"I don't know" said a shocked Tara as she looked around her surroundings before Buffy helped her stand up, "this isn't me… I mean… I didn't use any magic."

"But it hurt" said Tara as she rubbed her temples, "I… don't know.. I never used magic like this."

"Maybe unconsciously?" asked Buffy as the both of them walked towards the group of people, "but what I'd like to know is, what's going on?"

"Buffy" said Tara as she pointed to one woman wearing a black dress leaning into one of the coffins. When the woman stood up again, she was joined by another man and a blonde haired woman who gave out some tissues to wipe their eyes. The both of them looked on in shock as the man held on to the now trembling woman who had fallen onto her knees as she broke down. They watched as the second blonde women sat next to her and whispered into her ear before the man and the woman held her to stand up. When they turned around, both Buffy and Tara were stunned to see that the three people were Xander, Anya and Buffy. All their eyes were red and puffy as they wiped the tears that were streaming down their faces.

"What the hell?" said Buffy as she held onto Tara and walked through the three visions of Xander, Anya and herself. The both of them walked towards the two coffins and then immediately they stepped back with hands covering their mouths. They looked at each other in shock as the saw Giles in one coffin, and Joyce in other. Just then, the surrounding area of the funeral home simply vanished and they found themselves back in the hallway.

"Buffy" said a stunned Tara, "I swear to you it wasn't me… I… I mean I think it wasn't me."

"Tara" said Buffy, "I need you to call my mum, keep her safe… please?"

"Of.. of course" said Tara as she nodded her head, "and you?"

"Giles is in the hospital visiting Faith" said Buffy, "I need to be there."

"Al.. alright" said Tara, "I.. I'll stay with Mrs. Summers."

"Tara" said Buffy, "be very careful… I.. I know that we don't know each other well and this is a big ask, but…"

"Go" said Tara, "I'll watch out for Mrs. Summers. She should be at her gallery?"

"Yea" said Buffy as she started to run, "it's on Main Street, can't miss it."

"Alright" said Tara as Buffy ran to the end of the hallway they were in, before taking off in a dead run past the still open classroom door.

"Be safe" said Tara softly as she turned around again and looked at the now brightly lit hallway and thought about the woman who looked like her mother, "who are you? Where you the one who caused that vision to happen?"

Looking around her for any signs of the woman, Tara then ran towards a nearby pay phone and dialled the directory service since she was afraid that she would be wasting time going all the way to the gallery in the event that Joyce wasn't there… or was out to lunch. If she could know exactly where Joyce was, Tara would be able to meet her there, and protect her if possible. Tara asked the woman on the other line to connect her to Joyce's gallery, which the woman did with some mumbled complaining. When the line was connected, Tara spoke to Joyce's assistant who told her that she had decided to leave early since she had already completed taking inventory. After asking the assistant if she knew where Joyce was heading off to, Tara was shocked to learn that Joyce had left for the hospital twenty minutes ago.

"Thanks" said Tara as she put the phone down and ran out of the building. She knew that Buffy had a head start on her so she ran as fast as she could towards the campus exit. She hoped that she would be able to catch a taxi outside, or else she'd be too late to help Buffy in whatever would threaten Giles and Joyce.

TBC.

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Sunnydale General Hospital, Special Wing, 1050 hours.**

After grabbing some snacks and a cup of coffee from the vending machines earlier that morning, Giles entered the room again to the sound of a machine beeping. Getting into the room quickly, he set down his coffee and two packets of mini pretzels on to one of the bedside tables and rushed towards the machine. Looking closely at it, he knew that it was the one that measured brain waves, the same machine that earlier had been quiet was now making beeping noises as he looked at the periodic waves forming on the screen. As he looked at Faith and gave the Slayer a kiss on her forehead, Giles quickly rushed out to the reception desk that was just a few doors down.

"Miss" said an excited Giles as he looked at the blonde woman who was seated at the desk, "Miss, can you get a nurse or a doctor to Faith Lehane's room, please? I think she may be regaining consciousness, the brain wave machine…. Thing…. is showing some sort of wave.. please send someone."

"Of… of course" said the very surprised woman as she pressed a button at the side of her desk, "just go to the room, someone will be by shortly."

"Thank you" said Giles as he ran back to the room. However, unknown to the older man, the woman then took out her phone and dialled a number. Putting the phone to her ear, she heard it ring three times before she disconnected the call. Then, almost immediately, she received a return call; letting the phone ring twice, she flipped it open and answered it.

"Is she awake?" asked a gravelly voice that was on the other end of the line.

"Giles is still here" said the woman, "he said that she may be regaining consciousness, get here now."

"We're about an hour and a half out" said the man, "I want you to give our other contact in the hospital the special cocktail… keep her knocked out."

"Of course, sir" said the woman, "and the police? The hospital was told that they had to be notified once she awoke."

"I'll inform the contact to hold off on calling the police" said the man, "she's ours, not the local constabulary's. Collins out."

The woman then disconnected the phone and picked up the phone on the desk and called the hospital administrator. She passed on Collin's message that the police need not be called at this time, they weren't needed as Collins and his Special Operations Team was on the way.

In the meantime, once Giles was back in the room with Faith he immediately called Joyce at her gallery. Once he had let her know that Faith may be waking up from her coma, Joyce grew excited on the other end of the line. She had told the ex-Watcher that she still had a little bit of inventory left to do, and then she had a last minute meeting with a client. She told him that she'll re-schedule the client for the next morning and then, once that and the inventory was done, she'll rush over to the hospital.

"Please stay with her, Rupert?" said Joyce over the phone.

"Yes, of.. of course" replied Giles as he watched Faith slowly breathing in and out. Once he put the phone down, Giles slowly walked over to Faith's left side and took a seat. HE then gingerly reached for her hand and took it in his and squeezed gently.

"Faith" said Giles as he looked at the comatose Slayer, "I'd like to apologize that I wasn't able to be here when the machine went off, I'm sure that it's frightening and….."

Just then, Giles felt the hand he was holding slightly twitch as he looked at the hand suddenly with surprise etched on his face. He then looked back up at Faith and smiled.

"You'll be alright, Faith" said Giles, "we'll make sure that you're alright. I know that you haven't had the best life, the truth is that I never made the effort to know your background. The Council isn't that great about letting Watchers know things like that. But when you wake up, maybe we could sit down over some tea… I'll introduce you to some nice Earl Grey when you wake up. We could sit down and talk. I know you haven't had the best experience with Watchers with what happened to Diana, and then we all know about Gwendolyn… but I'm hoping that you'd accept me as your new Watcher. I know it would be hard but…."

It was at that moment that the door to Faith's room opened and a grey haired man who seemed to be in his fifties opened the door slightly after having knocked. He introduced himself as the hospital administrator and he had heard that one of his long term coma patients seemed to be regaining consciousness. Giles had let him into the room and told him that he felt her hand twitch after he held it.

Frowning, the administrator explained that it could simply have something to do with the nerves in her hand, that maybe he had held her hand too tightly and elicited an involuntary muscle movement.

"I don't think so" said Giles, "I didn't put any pressure on her hand, she did it on her own."

"All I am saying, Mr. Giles" said the administrator, "is that you shouldn't keep your hopes too high, she came in with massive internal injuries and her brain had swelled many times its size… and even if she does wake up, then she may have severe neurological problems."

"But…." Said Giles as the administrator placed his hand on the Watcher's shoulder.

"Mr. Giles" he said, "I'm glad that she had someone watching over her, she's been here alone for a long time. But I'm trying to tell you what could happen, I'd like to prepare you for the worst case scenario."

"I understand" said Giles as he pointed at Faith, "I have confidence that she'll pull through and be as good as new."

"I see" said the administrator as the nurse at the reception desk that Giles had seen earlier came into the room. He then smiled at Giles and told him that they would need to leave as the nurse would have to give Faith a sponge bath, so she needs privacy. As they left the room, the administrator told Giles that he hopes that Faith does wake up… but he's also expecting the worst if she does.

Frowning, Giles nodded at the administrator as he walked away. He stood in the hallway as he waited for the nurse to finish what she was doing. Walking down the hall, Giles came up to the reception desk where a different nurse was now stationed and smiled at the elderly grey haired woman. He walked around that area for thirty minutes before he heard the door to Faith's room open and the nurse walked out of it with her trolley. She nodded at Giles who smiled back at her and walked back into the brunette Slayer's room.

Once the door closed, the nurse walked back to the reception desk and asked the other nurse that she had to make an urgent call and if she would be able to take the trolley back to the stock room. Nodding her head, the other nurse stood up and pushed the trolley away. The other nurse then took out her phone again and called Collins. Following the same procedure as earlier, she picked up the phone again after the second ring and told the man on the other line that Faith was given the sedative… that she shouldn't be waking up for hours, if she ever does.

**Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain, at that same time.**

After Joyce had received the call from Giles about Faith showing signs of waking up. She immediate dialled the number that Colonel O'Neill had given her, it was a direct line to the SGC in the event that there was an emergency, or if Faith had woken up.

"NORAD" said Walter on the other line who, until then, was just running diagnostics on the Stargate.

"Ummm…" said Joyce, "I'm not sure if this is the right number, but I need to talk to Colonel O'Neill. He gave me this number… oh, sorry… this is Joyce Summers."

"Mrs. Summers" said Walter as he pressed a few buttons on the phone, "please hold, I'll connect you with Colonel O'Neill."

"Thank you" said Joyce as she was looking at some paperwork on a desk at her gallery when she heard a click in the other end and a different voice, a voice that she recognized.

"O'Neill" said the Colonel who was throwing sharpened pencils up into the ceiling of his office.

"Colonel" said Joyce with a smile as the Colonel sat straight up on the other end, even though he didn't have to, "I'm sorry to bother you but I thought you needed to know that Faith has been showing signs of waking up."

"I see" said the Colonel, "that's good news. If it's alright with you, I'd like for the base Chief Medical Officer to give her a once over. I'll make sure she gets the required clearances to examine Faith, which shouldn't be that hard since like Red, Buffy and Tara…. Faith is considered to be a national security asset."

"That would be great" said Joyce excitedly, "about them being national security assets, that means that no one can do anything untoward to them… right?"

"Only the President will have access to the files" said the Colonel, "just like how Major Rosenberg said her file had been categorized in her own reality."

"That's good" said Joyce, "will… will you be coming as well?"

"Yep" said the Colonel as he leaned back as threw another pencil into the ceiling, "I'll have to notify Hammond first, but Daniel and Teal'c will be joining me, we'll leave in a few hours. Carter will bring Red tomorrow. She's got the whole day training Red in basic unarmed combat."

"I see" said Joyce, "I hope that Willow's doing well."

"From what I've heard from Carter" said the Colonel, "she's already been trained by Mr. Giles, just some of her techniques are a bit raw… but she'll get there."

"She's always been a quick learner, Colonel… she has been for as long as I've known her" said Joyce smiling, "so….. should I be expecting your team before dinner?"

"Probably" said the Colonel, "I should let the others know, and I was wondering.. you know you had that chocolate cake the last time we were in Sunnydale? Would it be too much trouble to…."

"I can get another one done, Colonel" said Joyce as she smiled to herself.

"Sweet" said the Colonel as he threw another pencil into the ceiling which, by now, looked more like a dart board than anything else, "I… I mean Daniel, liked the cake."

"Sure" said Joyce with a smirk on her face, "we'll see you and your team later then, I'd like for you to meet Giles and the others too."

"Have a good day, Mrs. Summers" said the Colonel as he put down the phone and dialled another number. The Colonel then put the phone on his ear and a man with a Texas accent picked up the other line.

"General, Sir" said the Colonel, "I just received a call from Mrs. Summers about Faith."

"I see" said the General as he glared at an elderly, grey haired man, in a brown tweed suit who was sitting across from him, "do what you need to do Colonel, and then I need you in my office."

**General Hammond's office, fifteen minutes later.**

The Colonel had already notified Dr. Fraiser, Daniel and Teal'c that they'll be leaving for Sunnydale via Petersons Air Base in three hours. Once all of that was cleared up, the Colonel walked out of his office and shut the door as he walked down the hallways, then took the elevator down to the twenty seventh floor. Walking slowly towards the General's office, he noticed that the blast doors that covered the briefing room windows were down. That meant only one thing, there was someone here who had clearance… but not the need-to-know classification require for the Stargate Program.

"Sir" said the Colonel as he opened the door and saw the General scowling at an elderly man seated directly across from the General. The Colonel then walked into the office and closed the door behind his after the General gave him the nod. The man then stood up and gave a smile to the Colonel as he shook his hand.

"Quentin Travers" said the elderly man as he gave a smile that never reached his eyes.

"General?" asked the Colonel after he gave a quick handshake.

"Mr. Travers here is the head of the Watchers Council of Great Britain" said the General.

"Yes" said Travers, "I understand that you people have been questioning one of our operatives?"

"Operatives?" said the Colonel Calmly, "you call using minors to fight in the front line operatives? A fight that apparently you people keep your grubby little hands out off?"

"Yes" said Travers as he narrowed his eyes at the Colonel and then at the General, "the Slayers are the Council's operatives. The Council fights the evil things in the darkness. The Slayer is the instrument with which we fight. The Council remains and the Slayers will always change, that is how is has been since the beginning."

"Right" said the Colonel nodding his head, "and again, you people sit back and wait for the Slayer to die.. and then let the next one continue."

"I will get to the reason why I am here, Gentlemen" said Travers as he glared at the Colonel. He didn't like the man in an instant, "you will desist recruiting Buffy Summers and, or, Faith Lehane into this little operation that even the Council apparently has not clearance to know."

"Did he just call this a 'little operation', sir?" asked the Colonel as he looked at the General.

"Mr. Travers" said the General as he stood up, "I'll have you remember that you are a guest in this facility, and yes… I know what strings you pulled to gain access into this base but….."

"I know you deal with alien technology" said Travers smugly as the Colonel and General looked at each other as they tried to hide their concern, "so, you will desist recruitment of Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane who is a murderer and will face justice at the hands of the Council, or…"

"Or?" said an incensed General Hammond as he glared at Travers.

"Or I will use the Council's considerable political clout to make sure that this little operation in gaining alien technology gets shut down" said Travers, "the British Prime Minister is a good friend of mine and I'm sure that he'd like to know that the United States military has been…."

"Mr. Travers" said General Hammond interrupting Travers, "I suggest you do not speak another word."

The General then picked up the red phone on his desk and pressed a number. The Colonel had never seen the General this angry; he was never this angry even when SG1 disobeyed a direct order and used the Gate to get onto Apophis' mother ship before he launched an attack on Earth.

"Get me the President" said the General as Travers looked on in surprise while the Colonel grinned with his hands in his pockets.

It was a quick thirty minutes later that saw Travers storm out of the base and get into his waiting car at the surface. He had been told in no uncertain terms by the General after he confirmed with the President, that both Buffy and Faith were national security assets. He also added that it was the same for Willow and Tara. The Council was to stay away from the two Slayers. As Travers got into his car angrily, he recalled the conversation he had with the Colonel about Faith.

"Are you aware of Faith's background?" asked the Colonel once the General had finished talking to the President and informing him of Travers' intentions if they do not stop efforts to recruit Buffy, and Faith. Or even place the both of them under the umbrella of the Air Force instead of the Council of Watchers.

"It doesn't matter to us" said an incensed Travers, "she's a rogue Slayer, we will determine her punishment.. not you, and not any law written by man. She is the Council's to deal with as we see fit. Like I said before, the Slayers are the tool of the Council… we are the ones who will sharpen them."

"Without any regard for their welfare?" asked the Colonel incredulously.

"That is the duty of the individual Watcher" said Travers, "and….."

"I'll repeat myself" said Colonel O'Neill, "what do you know about Faith's background?"

Travers could only stare at the Colonel in anger as his jaws locked and he narrowed his eyes at the Air Force officer in front of him.

"We ran complete background checks" said the General as he took out a file, "childhood abuse, both physical and mental…. Her mother forced her into prostitution.. and… most of the things in the file sicken me to even mention. The sad thing is that she herself was the one that reported all of this, and the mother denied all those claims when the police and social services came to check on those allegations. I myself would like to know why nothing was followed up on, and the best person to ask would be Miss Lehane when she wakes up. And you are telling us that, pardon me for using your own term, your little organization knew nothing about this?"

"To us, it is the mission that matters" said Travers, "the Slayers fight to protect this world and…."

"Who fights to protect them?" asked the Colonel, "we will be providing Faith and Buffy, including her friends, with training. There's nothing we could do about them having been learning to fight since they were minors… but we can do something now. They will be given support by us."

"It is not your call to make" said Travers.

"I've already relayed what the President wanted me to tell you" said General Hammond, "he'll be informing the British government about our organization and the need for secrecy, and they'll be given a seat on the table. The Russians are already aware of the program and our other allies are due to be notified soon. In the meantime, he has given me full discretion on how to deal with blackmailers such as yourself."

"You do not have the right" said Travers, "or the resources to deal with the evils that are out there."

"Which is why" said the General, "your organization will provide Mr. Giles and his team with any resources on the mystical end of things, and that is as far as this Council's involvement will go. Understand that the way this Council worked previously is effectively over. We will provide Miss Summers and Miss Lehane with training, and psychological help.. .and your 'little organization' will assist in providing any mystical back-up. Remember that within a year, Miss Summer will be attending the Academy… and if you, or your organization do anything to prevent that… I will ensure that the full weight of this 'little' organization is brought to bear on your heads."

"Now" said the Colonel as he nodded at the Airman who was waiting outside the General's office, "this nice Airman will see you out."

Back in the car, Travers was livid at the arrogance of the Air Force in their thinking that they could order the Council around. He reached for the car phone once the driver had passed the front gate. Unknown to the General, he had already pulled files on Tara and Willow once he learnt that Buffy was going with them to Colorado Springs thanks to his contacts in Sunnydale. He had already looked through Willow's file and found that there was very little, almost nothing, that he could use to get back at the Air Force with. But when he checked Tara's file, he noticed the missing person's report that was attached to it.

"William" said Travers, "I want you to anonymously inform one Theodore Maclay that his daughter is attending U.C. Sunnydale. I will be sending you her current address and, Mr. Maclay's telephone number."

"Of course, sir" said William.

"And our sleeping Slayer?" asked Travers.

"The Special Operations Team is on their way, Sir" said William as he looked around his office at Sunnydale General Hospital, "I have spoken to Collins and he has informed me that she will be taken out of here, and if anyone interferes then they will be dealt with as well."

"Good" said Travers, "this cannot go back to the Council… which is the reason for the Special Operations Team in the first place. If they get caught, their existence will be disavowed by the Council."

"Collins is aware, sir" said William.

"Good" said Travers as he put the phone down. Now all that was needed was a way for Buffy to remain in Sunnydale, and an idea popped up into his head. Picking up the phone again, he called a direct line to the leader of the Special Operations Team.

"Sir" said Collins as he picked up the phone as he was driving a black van with two of his colleagues.

"After you get Faith" said Travers, "I want an accident to occur with Mrs. Summers."

"Sir?" said Collins, "are you saying?"

"No assassination" said Travers, "make it look like an armed robbery gone wrong, or a demonic attack. The mother can be slightly injured… but no killing. Use any magic that you deem appropriate. I want her to know that her mother will be in danger if she's not there to protect her since Faith will be out of the picture. Do you have an exit plan in place?"

"We already have a ship ready, sir" said Collins.

"Good" replied Travers, "get it done."

Travers then put the phone down and leaned back on the leather seats of his car. He was going to make the Air Force pay for interfering, and if it meant that innocents would get stuck in the middle, then so be it. The Slayers fight for the protection of this planet…. And Travers would do everything he could to make sure that the planet was protected.

"They're just casualties of war" smiled Travers to himself as he headed towards the airport. He had a flight to catch that would take him back to England.

**Sunnydale General Hospital, Special Wing, 1335 hours.**

Ever since the nurse had left Faith's room in the morning, Giles never felt the young brunette's hand twitching again. At first he thought that maybe the administrator was right, that it was all an involuntary muscle movement… but deep down, he knew he was just lying to himself. He knew that Faith had actually twitched her hand and he was hoping that she would do it again.

"Faith" whispered Giles as he leaned into the young woman, "I know you're in there somewhere, the machine is showing that your mind is working.. I mean… hell, even I don't know what I'm talking about sometimes but I know I felt your hand move. I need for you to do it again."

Giles then looked at Faith's hand as he held it in his; willing it to move… willing it to squeeze his hand. He then looked at the profile of Faith's face and whispered to her again.

"A lot has happened since your coma, Faith" said Giles, "a lot of things that you need to be brought up to speed on. I saw something that I never thought I'd see, at least without magic… I've heard about things that I never thought I'd hear even thought I believe in the supernatural. Faith, I've heard about what your potential could be and I would do everything in my power to help you reach it. I'm here waiting for you, so is Joyce, Xander, Buffy and Willow… we're waiting to help you get through whatever difficulties you may have. Faith, you are a Slayer… Buffy's been offered a place at the Air Force academy which she'll take once you're brought up to speed. You will be her successor. I know the line goes through you now, I've know it for a long time ever since Buffy was resurrected. I know, I've always seen her as my Slayer. Maybe I was wrong. The truth is that you will be, I mean you are her successor, but you still need to be trained. The military had offered to help train you, Buffy and the others…. They have offered every resource possible in that respect. And if you'd have me, then I will be your Watcher as well… something that has never happened in the history of the Council. But to do all of that, for you to achieve the potential that I've heard so much about… I need you to squeeze my hand. Faith, prove to me what happened this morning wasn't a fluke.. come on. I know you can hear me. Squeeze my hand, my dear."

Giles then looked back at her hand that was laying over his, and there was no movement. Sighing, Giles looked back at Faith and smiled.

"Take your time, Faith" said Giles, "we'll be here."

It was a few minutes later that Giles heard someone knocking on the door. Getting from his seat, he noticed growing pressure on his hand. Looking at his hand, he smiled as he saw Faith slowly squeezing his hand.

"That's my girl" said Giles as he smiled at the brunette, "I've got to open the door, I'll be right back."

At that, Faith's grip seemed to get harder as Giles noticed that her eyes were moving around rapidly under her eyelids.

"Oh dear" said Giles as he leaned over the brunette and gently caressed her cheek, "take your time Faith, we're here."

He then heard the knocking on the door again and, thinking that it could be Joyce, told her to come in. Once the door opened and Giles heard the sounds of steel toed boots hitting the floor, he turned around and looked on in shock.

"Rupert, old friend" said Collins as he walked into the room with two other men in black jackets, and the nurse who was at the reception desk earlier, "we need to talk. The Council has an offer for you."

TBC.

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Sunnydale General Hospital, 1337 hours.**

Giles could only look in shock at the people who were before him, and he mentally kicked himself. He was so ecstatic that Faith was showing signs of awakening that he never even pit it into the front of his mind that the Council could have had spies in the hospital as well.

'That would make the most sense' thought Giles to himself as he stood in front of the bed as he looked at the nurse who gave him a smile, and was the same one he had early told that Faith seemed to be waking up, 'who else is there? The orderlies? Other nurses? The Administrator?'

It was four against one in the room, and he hoped against hope that Buffy would do one of her barging in appearances because he didn't think that he could hold of three members of one the Council's much vaunted Special Operations Team. He recalled that it was a similar team that had attempted to take Faith back to England the day after the Mayor's aide was killed, however Faith escaped from that team and joined the Mayor as his own personal Slayer/assassin. Giles could approximate that as being Faith's breaking point, the exact moment when she felt betrayed by everyone around her. That was the moment that she ran to the arms of the enemy for comfort. Now he was faced with another team, and a nurse who wanted to either take Faith back to England… or kill her right here and now.

All Giles knew was that he had to buy some time; he was hopeful that there would be a guard doing his rounds that would walk past the room. But then doing so may place that guard's life in danger as well, the team was authorised to do anything to get their man or, in Faith's case, woman.

"Collins, Weatherby, Smith" said Giles as he looked at the three men in front of him, and then looked at the nurse, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know you… are you really a nurse?"

"Kristine" said the nurse, "my name is Kristine, and yes.. I really am a nurse."

"And you're involved in trying to harm Faith" said Giles, "doesn't that go against your oath to protect people."

"It's….. complicated" said Kristine.

"Enough" said Collins as he looked at Kristine who smirked at the brown haired man, before looking at Giles again, "like I said, old friend, the Council has an offer for you."

"Oh stop with all the offers" said Weatherby as he walked towards Giles, "by order of the Council, the Slayer Faith Lehane will be taken back to England for face charges of murder. Now get out of the way."

"Weatherby" said Collins as he put his hands on the other man's shoulder and pulled him back, "I want to give him the chance to let her go, now don't talk."

"Collins" hissed Weatherby as the nurse and Smith looked on, "she perverted the name of the Council, she's a piece of trash that needs to be thrown away. I saw we knock out Giles and kill her in her sleep."

"You're not getting close to her" said Giles as his tone of voice became more serious and he straightened his body, "now leave before you do anything stupid, Faith is protected."

"Calm down" said Collins and he looked at Giles and at Weatherby who was glaring at Giles, "Giles, the Council offered your old job back. All you have to do is let us have Faith…. it's that simple. You can go for a cup of coffee, and you can say that when you came back… she was gone. No one can fault you."

"No" said Giles as he stood firm.

"Giles" said Collins, "you know we have the authority to do whatever it takes to achieve our objectives, I'm giving you the chance to put yourself out of this…. We've been friends for a long time, and I'd hate to have to see one of my friends suffer."

"I want you all to leave" said Giles, "the Air Force already knows about Faith, anything happens to her or to Buffy…. Look, both of my Slayers are protected. Just leave; we'll forget this little incident."

"You forgot, old friend" said Collins, "the Council will disavow our existence. It would seem as if Faith was killed in an accident, or a member of a gang she spat on killed her for revenge. They can never pin it on us."

"Leave" repeated Giles.

"Weatherby, Smith" said Collins as he nodded to the two men beside him as they rushed Giles.

While the both of them grabbed an arm and pushed Giles against a wall on the other side away from the door, the Watcher saw Collins nodding at the nurse. The nurse then took out a syringe from a pocket on her uniform and walked over to the unconscious Slayer.

"Collins" said Giles as the two men held him back against the wall. Giles then squirmed his arm away from Weatherby and pushed him away hard. The Watcher then turned and punched Smith in the gut as he stepped back in pain. Collins then rushed towards Giles to contain him just as the door leading to Faith's door opened.

"What's going on?!" shouted Joyce as she walked in and saw the brown haired Collins push Giles back onto a wall, Smith kneeling on the ground as he had his hand on his gut and then Weatherby slowly getting up on his feet after Giles had pushed him.

"Joyce" shouted Giles as he pointed at the nurse, "Faith!"

Joyce turned and saw the nurse leaning over Faith as she put in a syringe at the side of her neck. She then quickly rushed over and pulled away the nurses hand that was already prepared to push the plunger down. The nurse, surprised by the interruption, pushed Joyce away and then turned back towards Faith and reached for the syringe that was still sticking out of her neck.

"Oh no you don't" said Joyce as she swung the purse she was carrying at the side of the nurse's head, Upon contact, the nurse cried out in pain as she turned around and glared at Joyce. She then rushed towards Joyce and grabbed her purse before throwing it away to the side. Joyce then saw a punch coming from the nurse which connected with her face as the older blonde woman stumbled back.

"Joyce!" said Giles as Weatherby approached him from his side and punched his face and his abdomen until Giles was down on the floor.

After regaining her balance, Joyce saw the nurse again reaching for the syringe and this time she rushed the nurse before she reached for the syringe and pushed her to the wall. As the nurse grabbed her head in a daze, she didn't notice Joyce reaching into her purse and taking out a wooden hair brush which she then struck with across her face.

As she looked at the broken handle of the hair brush, she could feel the adrenaline that was going through her entire body, along with the sound of her own heartbeat ringing in her ear; she never heard Giles' shout towards her as she felt Weatherby hold her by the waist as he twisted his body and flung Joyce against a wall as hard as he could.

As Joyce hit the wall shoulder first, she shouted in pain as the third man…. Smith, who was already standing up rushed over to where Joyce was holding her arm as she winched in pain. He pushed her onto the wall and held her with his arm across her neck.

"Are you trying to be some kind of a hero?" hissed Smith, "all you had to do was give her up, she's nothing to any of you. She tried to destroy the world and you people are defending her? You make me sick."

"Smith" said Giles as he tried to get away from Collins but that man's grip was too tight, and then he pushed Giles against the wall, "she's an innocent."

Ignoring Giles, Smith looked back at Weatherby and nodded at the man. With a smile on his face, Weatherby walked to the bed that Faith was lying on and took out the syringe and smashed it on the floor. He then pulled the pillow that she was laying her head on and held it with both hands.

"We wanted you to be taken to the Council where you could get punished accordingly" said Weatherby, "but now… we'll take care of you here."

Weatherby then leaned in to Faith's ear and whispered, "you should thank the Slayer's mother, and Giles… if they weren't so gung-ho in trying to protect you…. you would have been given a grand execution in London. Now you'll just die like a common insect."

"Weatherby!" shouted Giles as he watched in horror as the bald man placed the pillow over Faith's head and pressed down.

Giles and Joyce looked in horror as they saw Faith's hands shaking as if she was struggling for breath when they heard the door open, and a blur pass right before them. The next thing anyone knew was that Weatherby was flung hard against the wall near where Collins was holding Giles. As Weatherby slid back down on the ground, the last thing he saw as he passed out was Buffy removing the pillow off Faith's face and throwing it back down on the floor as she glared at the man who was holding her mother against the wall.

Giles noticed that Collins was momentarily distracted, so he gave the man a head butt. Then when Collins stepped back from the pain, Giles pulled his arm back and punched the side of his face before he was lying down on the floor unconscious.

"Hey" said Buffy as she rushed towards Smith and pulled him off Joyce, "you stay away from her."

Buffy then pushed Smith away as she stood protectively in front of her mother, with Giles walking towards the man. He then grabbed Smith and pushed him onto the door, while placing his arm on the man's neck.

"Didn't Quentin tell you that faith was protected?" said Giles very coldly as he leaned forward as he talked to Smith, "didn't he tell you that if you harmed any of us, the military would be coming after you?"

"You forget" said Smith, as he pushed Giles back and took out a knife from inside his pocket, "we technically don't exist." Smith then extended the blade and tried to swing it at the Watcher who jumped back, giving Buffy the space to rush forward and grab Smith's wrist. She then squeezed hard until the man dropped the knife on the floor before she quietly pulled his arm back, and twisted it. TA the same time, she kicked the back of his knee hard which made him fall onto the ground graining in pain. The blonde slayer then turned around and looked at Joyce in concern.

"Mom?" said Buffy as Tara ran into the room, "Tara? Sorry, but mom was here and…."

"I… umm… called the gallery" said Tara as she took more deep breaths, "they told me Mrs. Summers was heading here. So I caught a cab and… whoa."

Tara then noticed the two unconscious bodies on the floor, and the one that one groaning in pain near Buffy.

"They were being disagreeable, there's another one near the bed" said Giles as he squeezed Buffy's shoulder, before he looked back and walked towards Faith, "someone call security, and a doctor."

"I.. I'll get someone" said Tara as she nodded her head and ran towards the still empty reception desk.

"I'll call Colonel O'Neill" said Joyce as Buffy nodded at her. The older blonde took out her phone, and walked outside before dialling the emergency number that the Colonel had given her. She knew that that man wasn't going to be happy about this, none of them were.

**Eureka, Illinois, at that same time.**

Theodore 'Teddy' Maclay was sitting on his couch as he had his feet up on a stool as his niece, Beth Maclay was watching TV next to him. The two of them, plus Donald Maclay, had spent the last few months trying to track another member of their little family to little avail. It was true that yesterday he gad received a call from the police department saying that Tara had contacted them, but they gave no information on her current whereabouts. Teddy remembered looking at his son angrily when the officer that handled Tara's case said that they only had the right to know that she was safe; that since she was an adult who left home voluntarily, that they would not be able to disclose her current location. Enraged, Teddy remembered slamming the phone down.

Now, as he and his niece watched a show on television, the phone in the living room rang.

"Beth" smiled Teddy, "be a dear and get that for your Uncle Teddy would you?"

"Of course" said Beth with a smile as she ran over to the phone and answered it.

Teddy looked on as Beth brought the phone to her ear before she looked at him with a look of confusion.

"Yea, sure" said Beth as she held out the phone towards Teddy, "Uncle, it's for you….. sounds like an Englishman."

Now himself confused, Teddy got up and walked over to where Beth was standing and took the phone from her.

"Hello" said Teddy as he spoke gruffly into the phone.

"Theodore Maclay?" asked the voice on the other line.

"Yes" said Teddy, "who's this?"

"You daughter is at U. C. Sunnydale" said the voice as Teddy looked at Beth surprised. It was almost immediately that the look of confusion turned into a wide grin when the man gave him her address.

"Thank you very mush" said Teddy, "and you are?"

The line was then cut as the man put the phone down. Looking at the phone in his hand, Teddy slowly put the phone down and then looked at Beth.

"Wake Donny up" said Teddy as he looked at Beth, "we're going to Sunnydale, California."

"Tara?" said Beth.

"Tara" replied Teddy as he nodded his head with a wide grin on his face, "we're bringing her home before the demon takes control of her."

TBC.

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Gym, Stargate Command, 1400 hours.**

It had been some time since Travers had left the SGC before Colonel O'Neill, Daniel, Teal'c and Dr. Fraiser had left Colorado Springs for Sunnydale. The Colonel had let General Hammond know what was going on with Faith, and that he received a call from Joyce that she may be waking up at some point in the future. The Colonel requested that they go down to Sunnydale and supervise Faith's transfer to Sunnydale Memorial Hospital which had a better ward for coma patients, as well as a secure wing where she could be held safely while being questioned after she had regained sufficient strength to talk. In the meantime, Colonel Carter and Willow had been training in the SGC gym on basic hand to hand combat and suffice it to say, the blonde was impressed that Willow managed to improve on her techniques in under an hour.

"Wow" said the Major as she helped Willow take off the wrapping around her hands, "you learn fast."

"Kinda" said Willow sheepishly, "I.. well, I've been able to pick things up real quick.."

"Really?" said an impressed Major, "I'm jealous."

"It's nothing to be jealous about, Major" said Willow.

"How about you call me Sam until you start the Academy?" asked the Major.

"Is that alright?" asked Willow nervously, "I mean, isn't it rude?"

"You're not technically in the Air Force yet, Willow" replied the Major with a smile.

"Alright… Sam" said Willow as she looked at the blonde Major in front of her, "in the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I kinda hacked into certain… well…. Systems. I mean, I'm sure that this wouldn't be in my background check but I thought it's something that you should know."

"Hacked?" said the Major with an eyebrow raised before she smiled at the nervous girl, "you know, I've seen your IQ test scores, your SAT scores, and your high school and current GPA's... and I have to say Willow, I'm impressed. Not only are you exceptionally bright, but now I find out you're a hacker too. I have to say that I'm impressed."

'Thanks" said Willow as she rubbed the back of her head nervously.

"So what have you hacked into?" asked the Major as she sat next to the redhead and handed her a flask of water, "nothing dangerous, I hope?"

"No" said Willow as she shook her head after taking a sip, "mostly breaking into City Hall, or the Medical Examiner's office. Nothing like the Pentagon or the… you know, nothing classified.."

"Ah" said the Major, "but no hacking in the Academy alright?"

"Of course" said Willow, "and no magic either."

"I heard that you haven't practised" said the Major.

"Yea" replied Willow, "I remember what my duplicate told me, and well….. I mean it worked for me so far. When I feel the itch, I just draw."

"Draw?" asked the Major, "you mean like how recovering smokers would chew gum, or eat sunflower seeds or…. Stuff like that?"

"Yea" said Willow as she perked up, "sometime when I even think about the itch, I draw…. I mean I know I haven't attended any engineering classes… I mean I've been auditing classes for the past few months at U. C. Sunnydale… so I've been doodling a ship design. Yeah, I've only had the itch once, or twice. And I know it's nothing fancy, and my duplicate showed me the ships she used to fly and…. well…"

"Willow" said a laughing Major, "you're babbling."

"Oh" said Willow as she gave out nervous smile, "Tara, Buffy and the others tell me that I babble too. Usually happens when I'm too excited, and I am excited.. I mean hopefully I can help you guys with researching advanced technology you know, and I really cant wait to go through the Stargate and see other planets, meet other life out there in the stars. I mean, yeah, I know that going through the Stargate is dangerous and all, but I'm also excited… do you know what I mean?"

"Willow" said the Major as she laughed even harder, "you just babbled again, I was worried that you weren't going to take a breath."

"Sorry" said Willow as her face become red with embarrassment.

"But" said the Major as she placed her hand on Willow's shoulder, "I'm glad that you're excited. To be honest with you, the first time I physically saw the Stargate…. I was nervous as hell."

"Really?" asked Willow.

"Yeah" replied the Major, "it's good to be nervous. You never know what's on the other side of the wormhole, so everyday it could be something different. You could make another enemy, or a new friend, or a new…."

"Love?" asked Willow as she looked at the Major whose face turned crimson, "oh, you met someone through the gate."

"No" said the Major as she turned her head the other way, as Willow grinned at the nervous blonde, "I have not."

"I swear I won't tell anyone" said Willow.

"No" grinned the Major.

"Fine" said Willow with a dramatic huff, "I will find out one day."

"I will deny everything" said the Major laughing.

"That's no fun" replied Willow.

"It is" said the Major as she looked at Willow who smiled back at her, "but in all seriousness, if you need help with anything…. You can ask me."

"Thanks" said Willow, "actually, I was wondering if you'd want to check out some of the designs I drew. Like I said, its not much, but I would like to know what you think."

"How about this?" said the Major as she looked at the clock on the wall, "how about we hit the lockers, and then have lunch in the Mess Hall. After that, we'll go to my lab and look at what you designed?"

"Really?" said Willow excitedly, "I really mean it's not much… it's just a doodle, nothing concrete or anything you know and…"

"Willow" said a smiling Major as she stood up and turned around to help the redhead up, "let's take it slow, we'll take a look…. Then I'll introduce you to one of the programs we use. You're first assignment would be to make a three dimensional model of the ship, and if it's viable…. We'll send it to Colonel O'Neill. He'll probably want to have some cool things added like phasers or something to that effect."

"Hah" said Willow as the both of them walked out of the gym, "that's something I'd like to see, although beaming technology like in Star Trek would be pretty cool."

"Didn't you say in your report that your duplicate was beamed aboard a ship?" asked the Major.

"Yeah" said Willow, "but doesn't mean that we'll get it in this reality, maybe they found some way to safely demolecularize matter, and the reassemble it in another location?"

"Probably" said Major Carter as they heard footsteps that were running towards them. Walking around the corner, they saw that it was actually General Hammond quickly walking down the hallway towards the two of them.

"Sir" said Major Carter as she nodded her head.

"General" said Willow with a smile which faded after she noticed the frown on the bald man's face.

"Sir, is everything alright?" asked Major Carter.

"No" said the General as he looked at the both of them, "I just received a call from Colonel O'Neill, while he was boarding the flight to Sunnydale…. Miss Lehane, as well as Rupert Giles and Mrs. Summers were attacked."

"What?" said Willow and Major Carter together.

"Sir" said the Major, "do we know who? Why?"

"According to what Mrs. Summers told the Colonel" said General Hammond, "I was most likely…"

"The Watchers Council" said Willow softly as she frowned, "I'm sorry to interrupt you, General. But it was the Watchers Council, right?"

"Yes" said General Hammond nodding his head, "that's what Mrs. Summers believes, and Mr. Giles has already confirmed it. The local police have detained the individuals involved, and have been notified that they would be turned over the MP's who are already on the way to the hospital. They will guard Miss Lehane until we can get something more permanent set up."

"Sir" said Major Carter, "permission to leave for Sunnydale."

"Granted" said General Hammond.

"Is Faith alright?" asked Willow.

"Yes" said the General, "she is alright. Mrs. Summers said that one of them tried to smother her, but thanks to some quick thinking on the part of Miss Maclay, they managed to get a doctor who determined that there was nothing obviously worng. But she is being sent for a scan, just in case."

"They tried to smother a defenceless girl?" asked the Major as her hands were rolled into fists.

"Believe me, Major" said General Hammond, "Teal'c has already told Colonel O'Neill that he would like to have first crack at those men."

"He did?" said Willow.

"Not in so many words" replied the General as he looked at Willow, and then turned to the Major, "dismissed Major."

"Sir" said Major Carter as she nodded her head and turned to Willow after the General had walked off, "come on, Willow. Time we get packing."

"Sure" replied Willow, "I just hope the others are doing alright."

**Sunnydale General Hospital, Radiology, 1445 hours.**

Giles knew he wasn't going to make the same mistake again. Once Tara had called for a doctor and some guards to take care of the Special Operations team, the Watcher had insisted on accompanying Faith to the radiology department for another scan of her brain. After what had just happened, he did not trust anyone to be alone with her… even if it was one of the doctors in the hospital. He had left Joyce, who had a black eye and a bruised shoulder, in the capable hands of another doctor who had entered the room after the three would-be assassins were taken away by the Sunnydale Police Department. The officers had interviewed Joyce, Buffy and Giles before leaving for the station with the Collins, Smith and Weatherby.

Before leaving for the lab with Faith and the doctor, Giles told Buffy to give Xander and Anya a call as they needed to create a schedule so that someone was always with Faith… at least until she woke up.

"You still think she's wake up after what happened?" asked Buffy.

"I believe so" replied Giles as he gave Buffy a small smiled before walking off with the comatose Slayer. All the while to the radiology lab, Giles held onto Faith's hand as he slowly rubbed her fingers. He had managed to convince the doctor that he was there to protect Faith, and that he should be in the control room when she gets placed under the scanner. Frowning, the doctor stopped complaining when Giles bluffed by mentioning that Faith was a national security asset and that he was the one responsible for her welfare until the military got into Sunnydale and puts her into some kind of protective custody.

'I'll explain to this Colonel when he comes in that I had to lie to protect Faith' thought Giles to himself, 'Joyce said that he seems like an honourable man who was concerned about Faith, and Buffy. So I can simply hope that he understands the need for me to lie to the doctor about her being an asset… and me being her protector.'

It had taken about thirty minutes before the doctor had completed his scans, and then he had one of the orderly's roll Faith's bed back into her room with Giles staying close by. As the doctor frowned at the computer screen that displayed pictures of Faith's brain, he picked up his phone and looked around to make sure that he was alone. Dialling a number, he was soon connected to the administrator of the hospital.

"What the hell happened?" shouted the administrator over the phone, "I just got a call from the police, and had to visit the Slayer… who just had her mother injured. And the Special Operation's team has been taken into custody."

"Yes, sir" said the doctor as he looked at the pictures, "it was unavoidable, we had almost succeeded.. that is why you had me here today, to collect Faith's dead body. However, we never expected the mother… or the Slayer herself intervening."

"Now I will have to get another….." said the administrator as the doctor interrupted him.

"We have another problem" said the Doctor, "two actually… one, I just had Rupert Giles accompany me to Radiology. I tried to convince him that he was not needed, that Faith was in safe hands. I had hoped that without him, I would be able to complete the mission.. but he said that Faith has been placed under Giles' protection, that she is considered a national security asset."

"What?" said the administrator as he stood up in outrage, "why have I not been told about this?"

"Maybe Mr. Travers neglected to mention it?" said the doctor.

"It does not matter" said the administrator as he rubbed his forehead in frustration, "get something done before the military arrive and takes her out of this hospital, I don't care how… get it done. What was the other thing you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh" said the doctor, "she will be awakening soon. Her brain is fully active… whatever we do, we need to do it soon."

**Faith's Room, twenty minutes later.**

In keeping with Giles' request that someone be with Faith at all times, Tara volunteered to stay after Joyce complained of another sharp pain that went down her arm after she was hit on the shoulder earlier. So, as they were in a hospital, Buffy and Giles took her to see a doctor in the upper floors… the same doctor that everyone had found to their shock that Joyce was already seeing. As they stared at her shocked, she described how the other Willow had told them than she died in her reality, that she had a tumour which was removed… but unknown complications had left an aneurysm that burst a few weeks later. However, the one thing she didn't mention to anyone was about Dawn. No one knew about the third girl who had come through the mirror, and she suspected it was because they were already reeling from an information overload.

Before he left with Joyce and Buffy, Giles told Tara that Xander and Anya were already called and that they would be arriving in fifteen minutes. He also told her that the Air Force had already requested some MP's from the nearby Army base be stationed at the entrance to Faith's room and that they would be arriving in ten minutes.

Nodding her head, Tara slowly closed the door as Giles and Buffy took Hoyce away. Turning around, she took a chair and sat next to the brunette Slayer. Tara listened to the beeps being casued by the machines as she looked at the girl who was lying down in the bed. Leaning forward slightly, she tried to do what she knows Joyce had been doing here alone for the past few months.

"Hi… hi… Faith" said Tara nervously, "my… my name's Tara. Tara Maclay."

Getting no reaction from the girl, Tara slowly reached out for Faith's hand. Gently, she placed her hand on top of Faith's and just left it there.

"Yo… you don't know me" said Tara, "bu.. but, I. I'd like t.. to talk."

Tara turned around to make sure that she was alone before she turned back to Faith. She talked to her about her own life, and that they may be kindred spirits. Tara told Faith that she didn't know her history, that the truth was none of them did.

"But" said Tara as she looked at Faith, "I… I'd like to si…. Sit and talk, if… you know… if that's ok."

All of a sudden, Tara smiled as she felt Faith's hand twitch.. followed by a very soft voice. It was so soft that Tara had to lean forward more just to hear it, but she knew it was coming from Faith.

"Five by five"

TBC

 


	19. Chapter 19

**Faith's Room, a few seconds later**

Tara couldn't believe it. Here she was just talking to a complete stranger who was supposed to be in a coma, Who had just responded. Smiling to herself, Tara slowly stood up and looked at Faith's face for signs that she was waking up.

"Ummmm….." said Tara as she held on tightly to Faith's hand, "I… I don't know if.. you know.. if you're awake but… I can go call the others. From what Willow told me, Mrs. Summers has been coming to visit you for a few months now and…."

Tara then felt the hand that she was holding on to was twitching more and more. She then looked at Faith's face as she noticed the sides of her mouth twitching, while the machine that measured her heart beat was beeping faster and faster. The blonde witch then looked in surprise at Faith's aura which was dark, fragmented and disconnected from the rest of her body. It was something that Tara rarely saw in people. Tara could only frown when she sensed that the brunette was trying to do everything she could to escape from reality, that Faith was trying to live in a world that she could try to control.

"Faith" said Tara softly as she leaned forward, "I… I'm telling you the truth. I… I'm usually nerv.. nervous around stra… strangers. Bu… but I think tha.. that you've been alone for so long that.. that you don… don't have faith in anyone. But I… I'd like to help you… there are people who'd like to… to help you. Please wake up. There.. there are so.. so many amazing things out here… there are people wh… who care about you."

It was then that the machine started to beep louder as the door to Faith's room was pushed open, and the doctor who had taken Faith to the radiology lab earlier ran in.

"I've been monitoring her vitals" said the doctor, "I need to get her to an examination room. She could be having tachycardia. I need to get her checked out."

'The timing could not have been any better' thought the doctor to himself as he placed his fingers onto Faith's neck and measured her pulse, 'I can just take her out of here and…'

"No" said Tara as she ran to the doctor and grabbed the sleeve of his white coat and pulled him away from the unconscious brunette, "you're lying, get away from her."

"Damn it" said the doctor as he pulled his sleeve away from Tara, and then raised another had as Tara looked at him in shock before he slapped the side of her face with the back of his hand. He then smiled as Tara fell onto the ground from the impact. The doctor then unlocked the wheels on Faith's bed and went behind her head rest. As he slowly pushed the bed towards Tara who was quickly getting up, the bed stopped.

"You are not taking her" said Tara as a gash appeared on her cheek as a result of the ring on the doctor's finger cutting through her skin when he slapped her using the back of his hand. The blonde was on the other end of the bed trying to push back with all her strength against the larger man, "she is a friend…. You're not taking her."

"You don't even know her" said the doctor as he pushed the bed while Tara stumbled back before stopping him again, "she tried to destroy the world with the Mayor, she's a murderer, she's a rogue Slayer… she's kill you if she had half a chance. Like I said, you don't know her."

"Yes" said Tara as she braced herself and straightened her arms against the other end of the bed, "I don't know her, but… I… I know what it's like to be alone. But now I have.. I have friends, I have people… I have someone who cares for me. And… and I think she will have that too…. She will."

"Then where are your friends?" said the doctor as he pushed the bed again, only this time he wasn't able to move it thanks to Tara, "you really think the Slayer could help you? Even she thinks Faith is a lost cause, even she thinks you aren't worth it."

"You're wrong" said Tara, "she's admitted what happened that night, she's sorry for everything…. She…. She's not what you think she is…"

"Enough of this" said the doctor as he rushed from behind the bed and grabbed Tara's wrist, twisted it as the blonde girl shouted in pain.. and then pushed her against a wall. He then reached into his pocket and took out a syringe as he walked towards Tara, "you are useless… you think you can protect her? You would actually protect her after everything I told you?"

"Yes" said Tara as she rushed him. Cradling her wrist, she flung herself at the doctor who dropped the syringe before the blonde crashed into him. Following the impact, the both of them fell onto the floor with Tara on top of the doctor. He then saw the pain on Tara's face as they fell onto the floor and, taking his advantage, he flipped Tara over until he was straddling her. He then grabbed her throat using both of his hands and squeezed.

"You know" said the doctor as he looked at the unconscious Faith as Tara's arm hit against his shoulder. He then tried to hear for any footsteps from the outside hallway. Hearing nothing, he then looked down at Tara whose mouth was already open as she struggled for breath, "you really need better friends, they left you here… that redheaded witch left you here, Rupert Giles left you alone, The Slayer and her mother left you alone… and finally, Faith is so far gone… that she can't do anything to help you."

Just as the doctor had finished his last sentence, he noticed that Tara's eyes had switched to a position behind him as they widened in surprise. Looking behind him, he felt hands grabbing the collar of his shirt as he was picked up and then flung to the far wall. After hitting the wall, he heard the sound of something cracking before he fell back down onto the floor in pain. He then looked up through his terrified eyes as he saw the brunette Slayer looking down at Tara, he then looked at the bed and saw it was empty. Still in disbelief, he looked at the empty bed and then at Faith; and then at the empty bed again. He saw that Faith was breathing hard, and that her hands were rolled into fists as she walked towards Tara in a threatening manner.

"See" said the doctor as he got up, "I told you…"

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Faith silently turn around and stare at the man. She then slowly walked towards the doctor as he tried to search for an escape route, but the only exit was behind Faith… the main door.

'She's still weak' thought the doctor to himself, 'she's panting hard, means that she used most of her strength… and then some.. to throw me against the wall. I can make it, and then lay low… hope that I could be extracted from this hell hole.'

The doctor then smiled at himself as he tried to rush fast Faith who, instead of being pushed to the side, grabbed his arm and pushed him towards a near wall. She then, without saying a single word, walked towards the man and punched his face and then his abdomen.

"Faith!" shouted Tara as she slowly stood up with her face contorted in pain from her broken wrist, just as the Slayer was about to punch the doctor one more time, "don't, you'll kill him. You're not like that.. you know it, and I know it."

With one hand held onto the man's torso, and another arm pulled back ready to deliver another punch… the brunette Slayer looked back at the girl who was holding her wrist and looking at her. Faith then finally looked around the lit room as she saw open cans of drinks on the side table, food wrappers inside the trash bin that was close by, and then she smelt the flowers… the scent of roses as she fixed her eyes on the fresh flowers that lay on another side table near her bed. Then she remembered a voice in her dreams; first came the dreams she was having about the mayor…. The initial dreams she was having about Buffy stabbing her, again and again. Those dreams were soon overshadowed by a voice, a familiar voice that told her stories… amazing stories that couldn't have been true. The voice had told her stories of Christmas time, of adventures, stories of life, holidays, thanksgivings, stories of outer space.

Seeing that Faith was distracted, the doctor then pushed her away. He watched as the brunette Slayer just looked around the room, as if she was in a daze before he took off having failed his mission.

Faith noticed that he had left, but now… she didn't care. She could have killed him… killed him for what he wanted to do to her. Kill him for wanting to take her back to England. But something changed. Her dreams changed. Where in her previous dreams she would die; the voice… that kindly voice brought about dreams of her spending time with Joyce, with Buffy and the other Scoobies. In the dream, she was happy… she was laughing. She was helping Joyce with the dishes, then she was sitting on the couch as the group played charades. She laughed as Giles and Xander tried to mime a clue to a sentence, but were failing miserably. She laughed at Buffy who snorted mild out of her nose as she laughed hard at something Joyce had said. And then everyone looked at her, everyone looked at Faith as she stood up and stepped back. Suddenly, there was this overwhelming feeling of fear as she turned around and looked out the window as dark clouds gathered in the distance.

Then, just as the fear came… it disappeared again. She would hear Joyce's voice and the dreams would change. Eventually, over time, Faith continued having those dreams… the dreams where she finally had a family. The dreams where she was finally accepted… where she had friends…. Where she was taken care off. She would run up the stairs into her own room, instead of that fleabag motel…. It would be her own room. She'd have pictures of her and Buffy on a desk, then there would be another picture where Faith was laughing with her hands around Willow and Faith's shoulders…. That was the picture that Faith found most special. She was in a blue shirt and black jeans, while the two other young women were wearing Air Force uniforms. She saw another picture where she was standing nervously next to a proud Joyce, Faith was in a graduation gown as the picture was taken…. And all Faith felt when she was in this dream was a sense of peace… a sense of accomplishment.

Then she heard a man's voice in her dream. And everything had instantly changed…. Now she was fighting. She was fighting demons and vampires alongside Xander and another blonde woman she didn't know. Faith dreamt that she and taken out two vampires before turning around and watching as Xander silently.. and professionally dispatched another while the blonde woman took out the final one. She then heard weapons fire as the two demons that were with the group fell, before a group of soldier walked out and nodded at the three of them.

Finally, she heard another voice, a voice she never heard before. Eventually she realized that the first two voices belonged to Joyce, and then Giles.. but the last one she couldn't place it. But the voice was peaceful, it made Faith comfortable. And then, she heard commotions… she didn't want to wake up… she didn't want to face reality. But the last voice… Faith knew that the owner of the voice was in trouble. She had heard the voice defend her, she heard the voice scream in pain.. and then defend her again. It was then that the brunette Slayer woke up, she saw the owner of the final voice… a blonde haired young woman on the floor being strangled. She instinctively did want she knew she should do, she needed to protect her by any means necessary.

Then just before she could land the final blow on the man, Faith heard the voice shout at her to stop. She glared at the Council's lackey before she looked back at the young girl. Just then, the man pushed her away and ran off… leaving the both of them alone.

"Faith?" said Tara, "my… my name is…"

"Tara" said Faith as she stood defensively against the blonde. Faith knew that she was in the real world now, she knew that she was torn away from her dreams and anything could happen. No matter how comfortable a voice felt, anything could happen. And she would be ready to fight, fight anything and anyone who would harm her again… especially Buffy.

TBC.

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Faith's Room, 1510 hours.**

It had only been five minutes at most since Tara was left alone with Faith as Buffy and the others took Joyce to be examined by a doctor. In the meantime, the young blonde had talked to Faith when she responded out of the blue. Tara was surprised with both the response, and then by what happened next; the doctor who had taken Faith to radiology earlier rushed into the room and tried to take Faith away. Tara recalled doing everything she could to stop him; even when he twisted and sprained her wrist she still tried to stop him, even when he was straddling her body and strangling her did she still try to stop him. But she would have died, he was to strong.. but not strong enough for the brunette girl who had awakened and then saved Tara. Tara slowly got up as she saw Faith punch the man once to his face, and then another punch to his abdomen. She had seen that the man was struggling, so before Faith could land the final blow….. Tara told her to stop.

While a panting Faith looked at Tara with her pulled back arm slowly relaxing, the doctor had taken that moment to push the brunette Slayer away and run out into the hallway. Tara saw Faith look at the man leave before she turned back to look at her. Cradling her wrist with her other hand, Tara took a step forward as Faith went into a defensive stance.

"Fa.. Faith" said Tara nervously as a still dazed looking Faith had her hands up, and rolled into fists. Tara raised both hands as searing pain went through the arm with the damaged wrist and walked towards her slowly, "You…. you are a Slayer… you're no… not alone."

"What….." said Faith as she blinked her eyes and shook her head as she tried to clear the cobwebs from her mind. She recognized the kind voice, she knew that it was from the girl who had her hands up in front of her… but where were the others. Faith glanced around her as she looked for the owners of the other voices, but there was no-one around.

"You… you've be… been in a coma" said Tara nervously, "it… it's been mon.. months. We…. we nev.. never thought you'd wa… wake up."

"The school?" said Faith as she look at Tara, "what happened to the school?"

"Will… Willow told me tha… that the school blew up" said Tara who had her hands still up as her wrist seemed to throb with pain, "many stu.. students died. She… she told me what hap.. happened to you… and.."

Tara took a step back as Faith narrowed her eyes and took a step towards the blonde. She could see her aura slowly become a deep red indicating that she was angry.

'She's angry at Willow' thought Tara to herself, 'Will, you and the others have to talk to her."

"Faith" said Tara as she took one step forward, "i.. I know…"

"You know?" said Faith angrily, "what do you know? Did you know that Willow her so called gang of Scoobies played me? DO you know that they abandoned me? Do you know that…."

"I.. I know everything" said Tara as she bravely took another step as she closed the gap between herself and Faith. Faith, on her part, was confused as to why this girl was walking towards her so she took a few steps back. The dark haired Slayer intended to keep the gap between them.

"Will…. Willow and Buffy told… told us" said Tara as she looked into Faith's eyes.

"Buffy" said Faith through gritted teeth, "the princess, the queen… she told you huh? What did she tell you? She tell you how I was blamed for everything? Di she tell you that she tried to kill me? Did she tell you that she…."

"She saved your life today" said Tara, "the.. the men were attacking you, Mr. Giles and Mrs. Summers… she… she rushed in and saved you. Mrs. Summers told me… she saved your… your life."

"Then where is she?" said Faith as she put her arms down and motioned to the entire room, "Where is she then? She doesn't want to see me wake up? So she left? She filled her quota for the day?"

"Mrs. Summers wa… was injured" said Tara as Faith's eyes opened wide, "one.. one of the men punched her and threw her to a wall. Buf… Buffy and Mr. Giles took her to.. to see a doctor."

"Nice story" said Faith sarcastically, but there was a part of her that she was sure that Tara was telling her truth. The voices that she had heard, the commotion from earlier…. She was sure that one of those voices belonged to Joyce, and the other to Giles. But she wasn't sure if that was a dream, "and I'm sure that the others are just waiting in line to give me hugs and kisses huh?"

"Xan… Xander and Anya shou… should be here soon" said Tara, "Mr. Giles asked them to co.. come and watch over you while you.. you were in the coma. And Willow…. And Willow…"

Faith tilted her head as Tara looked down, but not before the brunette Slayer saw a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Willow left Sunnydale a few days ago" said Tara as she looked up at Faith and gave her a sad smile, "she joined the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs."

"She left?" said Faith as she looked at the sad smile on the face of the blonde in front of her, 'she misses her, don't tell me that… whoa, the redhead's not driving stick anymore.'

"Lots of things have changed" said Tara, "we… we.. want to make su.. sure that you're alright."

Just then, the both of them heard footsteps running down the hallway as a dark haired man and a blonde woman arrived at the door.

"Faith" said Xander as he looked in surprise at the brunette, and then at Tara who had already put her hands down and was once against cradling her wrist, "get away from her."

Faith turned to face the new arrivals as she looked on shocked at Anya. Remembering the dream she had when she had heard Giles' voice, she recognized Anya as the blonde woman that she and Xander were fighting alongside against those demons and vampires.

"You" said Faith as she stared at Anya, completely ignoring Xander, "who are you? why were you in my dream?"

"Your dream?" said both Tara and Anya while Xander frowned at the brunette.

"Hey" said Xander, "forgot about me did you? You know, the one you attacked? You used me for cheap sex? Remember?"

"You weren't that good" said Faith as she stared at Anya.

"Hey" said Xander, "I was real…."

"He needed training" said Anya as she nodded her head at Faith, "we've been having sex every single day, he can last a long time now."

"Anya!" said Xander, "we don't reveal our sex lives to those who try to kill friends."

"Xander" said Anya as she took a cautious step forward in front of Xander, "she's not harming Tara."

"N… no" said Tara as she shook her head, "the… the doctor.. he.. he wanted to take Faith away."

"Which one?" asked Xander as he looked down the hallway.

"He.. he left" said Tara as she pointed to the left, "he.. he went that way. He was strangling me, but Faith saved me."

"Crap" said Xander, "where's Buffy?"

"She and Mr. Giles went to see the doctor" said Tara, "I think they went to the second floor."

"Right" said Xander, "they'll want to know this."

Xander nodded at Anya, glared at Faith before he ran down the hall to the elevators. In the meantime, Anya walked into the room with the door remaining open so that Faith doesn't feel any more threatened than she already did.

**Sunnydale General Hospital, Second floor, five minutes earlier.**

It had only been a few minutes since Giles, Buffy and Joyce had come to the second floor and checked in with the nurse at the reception counter. She had given Joyce some documentation to fill out, while she waited for a doctor to see her. Once the documentation was filled out, Buffy took it off Joyce's hands and walked over to the counter and handed it to the nurse. Once she reached Giles and Joyce, she sat down and waited for her mother's name to be called.

"Buffy" said Giles as he turned to the blonde Slayer with a frown on his face, "how did you know?"

"Know what?" asked Buffy as she looked at Giles.

"How did you know that we were in trouble?" asked Giles. It was then that Joyce had came to the same realization and she too looked at her daughter.

"Right" said Joyce, "you were right on time, any later… I'm sure they would have murdered Faith."

"And the both of you" said Buffy.

"What do you mean, Buffy?" asked Giles.

"Look" said Buffy as she turned to look at both Giles and Joyce, "I don't know how, and Tara says that she didn't use any magic… but…"

"But?" asked Giles.

"It was like a vision" said Buffy, "she grabbed her head in pain and the our surroundings changed. It was like some form of a virtual reality environment but without the geeky head gear."

"Interesting" said Giles.

"Before that" said Buffy, "Tara thought she saw her mother."

"What?" asked Joyce, "her mother?"

"Yea" said Buffy, "she was dressed in white and…"

"Buffy, are you saying that you saw her too?" asked Giles.

"Yea" said Buffy nodding her head as she waved her hands, "the part that doesn't make sense is that she told me her mom died."

"That is odd" said Giles, "a ghost?"

"Maybe you should ask her sometime, Giles" said Buffy, "I didn't push her then, but the woman said something before everything changed."

"What?" asked Joyce.

"She said that we must prepare for something" said Buffy as she looked at Joyce and then at Giles, "she said that some chick will arrive at dawn; and then she will try to destroy the dawn to kill this world."

"That doesn't make any sense" said Giles as he looked at Buffy while rubbing his chin, "Joyce, what do you….. Joyce?"

Both Giles and Buffy noticed that Joyce had gotten pale as she started to sweat and her hands were trembling.

"Mom?" asked a very concerned Buffy as she gently took Joyce's hands in hers, "Mom, are you ok?"

"Joyce?" asked Giles as he got up and crouched next to Buffy, "is it the injury? Is it the punch that you received?"

"Dawn" said Joyce as she looked at both Giles and Buffy, and then focused on her daughter, "are you sure the woman said dawn?"

"Yea" said a confused Buffy, "maybe it means that…."

"Dawn" said Joyce as the both of them saw tears welling in her eyes, "Dawn is coming."

"Mom?" said Buffy as she put her hand on her forehead, "ok, you don't have a fever."

"Joyce?" asked Giles, "do you know what that woman meant?"

"I told you three people came through the mirror right?" whispered Joyce as she turned around to make sure no one was around, "three people from the alternate reality; one was Willow, and the other one was Faith."

"Yeah" said Buffy, "come to think of it, we never asked you about the third."

"Her name was Dawn" said Joyce, "the third girl was named Dawn, she escaped from that military base and came home."

"Hold on" said Buffy, "brown hair, a bit taller than me?"

"Yea" said Joyce nodding her head.

"Looks like Spike wasn't lying" said Giles, "he said he escaped with a young woman. She said that he knew her, but had never seen her before."

"But she left" said Buffy, "if she left then what did that woman mean?"

"Dawn" whispered Joyce to herself, "I remember she came into the house and panicked when she couldn't find her face in any of the pictures… I…. she told me it was complicated… but…. What if she's coming back, or… can it be… can it be magic?"

"Mom?" asked Buffy as she looked at Joyce, and then at Giles before looking at Joyce again, "mom what are you talking about? Why would she be in any of our pictures?"

"Buffy" said Joyce, "her full name is Dawn Summers, she's the daughter of my dead counterpart; and your alternate counterpart's sister."

"Sister?" said a shocked Giles as he looked at Buffy.

"Dead?" asked Buffy as she looked shocked at Joyce, "mom? What are you saying?"

"You have a sister in another reality" said Joyce, "a reality were I died from an aneurysm after I had an operation extracting a brain tumour."

"Oh dear lord" said Giles as he stood up and sat down, "have you seen an oncologist?"

"Yes" said Joyce, "Willow… I mean the other Willow told me to get checked out. I've gone every month, so far nothing. But if what that woman said was true, then it could mean that Dawn will return?"

"Mom" said Buffy, "why didn't you tell me? About your tumour?"

"I didn't want to worry you honey" said Joyce as she ran her hand through Buffy's hair, "I'm alright, I've been seeing a doctor… he said I'm fine."

"Joyce" said Giles, "we should have been told about his tumour at least, we could have come with you to the doctor. You didn't have to come alone."

"Thank you, Rupert" said Joyce, "but if I told you about this suspected tumour, then I would have been compelled to tell you everything. I couldn't at that time."

"The next time…." Said Buffy as Joyce kissed her cheek.

"You'll come with me" said Joyce as she smiled at Buffy.

Just then, they three of them heard the sounds of sneakers that were heading towards them. Turning around, they saw Xander running through the hallway as Buffy waved over to him. Once he reached the small group, he told them what happened to Tara, and that faith was awake.

"I'll go talk down, Faith" said Giles, "the both of you stay here?"

"That would be better" said Buffy, "I think I should let her calm down a bit before I see her, I don't think I'm her best friend right now."

"But you will have to talk to her soon, Buffy" said Giles with a smile.

"I know" replied Buffy, "but we can do that once you've talked to her. A lot of things have changed, could you…"

"Prepare her for that?" asked Giles, "for some of it, yes. The rest will be up to Colonel O'Neill when he comes in."

Nodding at Joyce and Buffy, Giles got up from his seat and followed Xander down to the special wing where Faith had just woken up. IN the meantime, Buffy turned to Joyce and smiled.

"If Dawn is coming back" said Buffy, "if that woman meant that my sister from another reality is coming back here, then I'd like to know about her, mom. Can you tell me what you know? What she told you?"

"Yes" smiled Joyce, "I'll tell you what she told me."

TBC.

 


	21. Chapter 21

**Faith's Room, Sunnydale Memorial Hospital, 1525 hours.**

It had been sometime since Xander had left to find Giles, Joyce and Buffy while leaving Anya and Tara alone with Faith. Faith, for her part, did everything she could not to feel woozy but she had no choice… she started to stumble back when her surroundings started to spin around.

"Hold on" said Anya as she rushed towards Faith, and held her up, "you got up too fast, you need to sleep."

"No kidding" said Faith softly as she held her head, trying to steady herself, "everything's spinning."

"You.. you must have gotten up too early" said Tara as she still cradled her sprained wrist, "umm.. thanks… you know… for saving me."

"I'd be out f here if I wasn't feeling so dead in the head" said Faith as she looked at Tara, "and you shout too loud, anyone could wake up…. Even if they were in a coma."

"Oh" said Tara as she looked down nervously.

Faith looked on as Tara looked down and then stepped back a bit and almost kicked herself. The Slayer had reminded herself that this was one of the people who was talking to her, it was her voice… as well as Giles' and Joyce's voices that her dreams had changed. As Anya helped Faith to her bed where she slowly sat on, and then lay back after lifting the headrest to a forty five degree angle; she looked at the nervous looks that Tara was giving her.

"Listen" said Faith as Anya walked back to where Tara was standing, "Tara… right?"

"Yes.. yes" said Tara as she nodded her head while Faith closed her eyes and out her arm over them.

"I.. I heard your voice" said Faith, "I thought it was just one of those voices people have in their dreams you know… I thought it was a dream. Anyway… I just wanted to say thanks. But don't think too much into it."

"I.. I'm glad you woke up" said Tara.

"Yes" said Anya as she nodded her head, "there have been a lot of exciting things happening in the world of the living… I mean not that you weren't dead or anything… or maybe you where? Well, its kind of like Schrödinger's Cat you know… have I even told you that I actually dated him one time when…."

"You talk too much" said Faith as she looked at Anya, "but you were in my dream too."

"Oh?" said both Tara and Anya together.

"And were we.. you know…. You, me and Xander?" asked Anya with an eyebrow raised as she made some hand motions while Faith and Tara looked at her with their eyebrows raised to their hairlines.

"No" said Faith shaking her head, "I mean you, Xander and I were fighting some vampires and demons, and these soldier guys came and shot the demons…. It was all so wacked."

"That is actually interesting" said Giles who appeared at the door to Faith's room with Xander standing next to him.

"Old man" said Faith as she looked at Giles with an expression of anger on her face before she turned her head and looked up at the ceiling.

Frowning, Giles walked into the room and then noticed Tara's sprained wrist. He asked Anya and Xander to take her to see the doctor, and then talk to one of the MP's who were on the way and tell them about the doctor who tried to kill Faith. After initially disagreeing with Giles that he be left alone with Faith, Giles tiold him that he would be alright.. that he had to accompany Tara and Anya especially since that doctor could still be in the building.

Reluctantly nodding his head, Xander then signalled both Anya and Tara to follow him to the second floor where Joyce and Buffy were waiting to see the doctor. After the three of them had left, Giles slowly closed the door. When the door clicked shut, Faith opened her eyes and stared at the Wathcer as he approached her with his hands in the pockets of his trousers.

"So" said Faith as she looked back up at the ceiling, "you here to kill me? Kill me for your dear Buffy? Kill me for the Council who…."

"Oh do shut up" said Giles as he grabbed a chair and set it next to Faith's bed as the brunette Slayer turned to look at him, "you just got up from a coma Faith; I'm not here to kill you, I not hear on behalf of the Council. If you remember correctly, I was fired."

"Yippee" said Faith sarcastically, "so what? You're going to call Wesley?"

"Faith" said Giles as he sighed and leaned forward, "I know you don't trust a lot of people, and don't blame you. We made a lot of mistakes… I made a lot of mistakes, and I will be the first one to recognize that."

"Do you want an award? Or something?" asked Faith as she looked at Giles.

"Faith" said Giles softly, "we should have treated you better when you came to Sunnydale, we should have gotten to know you. I knew you didn't have a watcher anymore, and yes… we made a big mistake with Miss Post. And yes we made a lot of mistakes that contributed to you being taken by the Council. I've had time to think about a lot of things due to certain recent developments, and…. I am not joking with you; I am willing, and able to train you… I'll be your Watcher if you want me to."

"You? Take another Slayer" said Faith sarcastically as she stared at Giles, "ooooh, what'll princess Buffy say? Maybe she'll you know… stab me in the gut again?"

"Faith" said Giles as he took off his glasses, "I am not joking. I will be your Watcher if you'll have me, you'll be given special training… of course you'll have to either finish school or get your GED, and then…."

"Woah" said Faith as she narrowed her eyes and looked at Giles, "Time out…. You're serious?"

"Yes" replied Giles.

"Why would I want to?" asked Faith, "what if I want to get out of here, I can tie you up and put you inside the closet… and them I can just walk out of here."

"Because" said Giles, "you don't want to be alone. Faith, I know you don't want to be alone. Like I said, we made a lot of mistakes… and one of them was letting you stay at that motel. I realize I'm more at fault then anyone so I'm giving you a choice. You can stay with me, or you can stay with Mrs. Summers."

"Wait, what?" said Faith surprised, "listen I…."

"There are some conditions" said Giles as Faith stopped talking and frowned at him. Giles raised his eyebrows at the girl who then nodded her head slowly, asking him to continue, "I'll be training you together with someone from the military.. actually whoever it is will be training both you and Buffy. Buffy's agreed to join the Air Force Academy in a year's time… you'll train with her and whoever they send."

"You mean" said Faith who was both surprised and confused at the same time, "Buffy…. Queen Buffy is quitting?"

"You have the chance to truly succeed her" said Giles, "may I continue with the conditions?"

Faith nodded her head as Giles gave a small smile.

"Buffy told me what really happened with Finch" said Giles as Faith looked on like a deer that was looking into a pair of head lights, "and I know you lied to me that night."

"I don't know what you're talking about" said Faith as she looked up at the ceiling, "I told you the truth."

"Faith" said Giles softly, "Buffy admitted everything to the military, Joyce, Willow; and then to me when she and Tara got back from Colorado Springs. She told me that it was an accident, that the both of you were at fault. Please, I would like to know your side of the story."

"Look, Jeeves" said Faith as she looked at Giles, "it doesn't matter what I say, the both of us know that you'll only end up taking her side. So will Willow, Xander and the others."

"Something recently happened, Faith" said Giles, "I only just found out as well, but that's not for me to tell you. Either the military will fill you in, or Willow will tell you because it involves her."

"I don't know….." said Faith as she looked confusingly at Giles.

"Please" said Giles, "I would like to work together with you and to do that, we need to build up some trust between us. I know that it's…"

"Non-existent?" said Faith.

"Yes" replied Giles as he rubbed his forehead, "its non-existent. But I'd like to build a semblance of trust slowly, and I was hoping we could start with the accident involving Finch. Please Faith; all I'm asking for is the truth. You won't get into trouble with me, or the military."

"So I tell you the trust" said Faith, "and then what? Huh? I get pushed away like yesterday's garbage? Or do I get to be a project? You know a 'let's see how we can fix Faith' project?"

"Neither" replied Giles, "You get to be neither; you get to be a normal girl with special powers. Someone who has a destiny that's been around for thousands of years."

"What are the other conditions?" sighed Faith as she went back to looking at the ceiling.

"You have to talk to a psychologist" said Giles as Faith snapped her head towards him with her eyes wide open. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Giles, "and yes, even Buffy, Willow and the other have to do the same thing as well. This is a new opportunity Faith, some people from the military will be coming by to help you and Buffy. They'll ask you what happened that day in the alley, and about Professor Worth."

"Worth" said Faith softly before turning away from Giles, "what about him?"

"We just need the truth" said Giles as he slowly reached for Faith's arm, "like I said Faith, trust takes time to build… and I'd like us to get a head start. What do you say?"

Turning back to Giles, Faith tried to find any signs of deception from him.

'For all I know, this could be a trick' thought Faith to herself as she eyeballed Giles, 'I tell him what happened, I tell him that I stabbed Finch and I'm gone. The other members of the Council could be outside and they'll take me away. No… I can't tell him the truth.'

"The truth is that Buffy did it" said Faith softly. Faith looked on as Giles frowned and sat back on the chair and sighed.

'Even I didn't believe myself' thought Faith to herself.

"I should have expected that gaining your trust would be hard, and I deserved that" said Giles as he leaned forward, "so how about this? I tell you what Buffy told me on the drive from the airport, and then you tell me if it's true."

"Fine" said Faith softly as she thought to herself, 'it would be a lie anyway, probably place all the blame on me. Put me down as the cold blooded killer they think I am.'

Faith heard in surprise as Giles recounted to her everything that the blonde Slayer had told him on the drive back from the airport. He told Faith about how Buffy had grabbed the Deputy Mayor, and then pushed him hard against the dumpster. And then how Faith took out the stake and killed him. He told Faith that Buffy had admitted that she was running on pure adrenaline and that she only realized that he wasn't a vampire just a millisecond before Faith staked him. Giles had told the shocked Slayer that Buffy had admitted this to Willow and Joyce as well while they were in Colorado Springs.

"So" said Giles after he had finished recounting everything, "was Buffy right?"

"I'll be damned" said Faith softly as she looked at Giles, "B told the truth."

"Faith" said Giles, "why didn't you tell me?"

"You're Buffy's watcher" said Faith, "of course I figured you'd take her side."

"That wasn't the point" said Giles, "I'll tell you the same thing I told Buffy, the same thing the Air Force told Buffy; accidents always happen in a war. Faith, you and Buffy are fighting a nightly war…. This was bound to happen."

"Then why did the Council take me away?" asked Faith angrily, "Wesley said that I'll be put away for a long time, is that what happens when there's an accident?"

"What happened to you was heavy handed" said Giles, "I have assurances from the Air Force that they want to help you, Buffy and the others. A group is on the way to talk to you about some things, if you prefer…. I can stay with you when they question you. You're not alone Faith, I hope that you will realize that one day."

"What happened to the Mayor?" said Faith softly.

Giles had told the brunette, who shut her eyes, that the Mayor had ascended and in doing so he killed many students, parents and faculty members. He told Faith that they finally managed to kill him by blowing up the entire school.

"Oh" replied Faith as she looked down at her bed.

"I realize that he was a father figure to you" said Giles, "and that maybe what we did drove you to him, I understand that you felt…"

"Betrayed?" asked faith as she turned to Giles, "you people had already put me down as a lost cause even before that."

"Yes" said Giles frowning, "yes we did. Maybe that was our mistake. Perhaps our greatest mistake was isolating you, something that we hope to rectify."

Just then, they heard someone knocking on the open door to Faith's room. Turning around, Giles stood up and stood next to Faith.

"Faith Lehane?" said the man as he stood at the door.

"Yea?" replied Faith as the man walked into the room and took out a pair of hand cuffs.

"I'm Detective Clarke frm the Sunnydale Police Department, I was called by the hospital administrator" he said as Giles and Faith looked at each other. Knowing that Faith was preparing to do something that would get here into more trouble than she was already in, he put his had on her shoulder gently and squeezed. He then looked at her and gave her a small shake of his head before looking at the detective.

"Rupert Giles, I'm Miss Lehane's guardian" said Giles as Faith looked at the older Watcher in surprise, "and given that she's still a minor, I wont let you question her without me present."

"I'm sorry" said the Detective, "her file lists her as having no guardian, so I'm afraid that…."

"If you want to question her" said Giles, "I suggest you call someone from the Air Force, Miss Lehane is listed as a National Security Asset."

This time it was both Faith and the Detective who looked at Giles in shock.

"That's not on her file" said the Detective as he narrowed his eyes at Giles, "do you have any proof?"

"Yes" said Giles as he took out a piece of paper and handed it to the detective, "this number was given to me by a family friend. It's a number for a Colonel Jack O'Neill, and I was told that if he isn't available.. then you should ask for a General George Hammond."

"Fine" said the Detective as he walked towards the Slayer, "but I will have to cuff her to the bed, she has a history of running away."

"I'll be here" said Giles as he stood closer to Faith, "I will ensure that she doesn't leave, and I'm sure that handcuffs won't be required for a minor."

"I'm sorry" said the Detective as he walked towards Faith and grabbed a hand and cuffed it to the bed's railing, "She's wanted for questioning on a series of murders that occurred in Sunnydale. I'm ensuring that she doesn't escape. In the meantime, I'll call this O'Neill person."

"Giles" said Faith as she looked at her handcuffs and then at the Watcher, betrayal reflected in her eyes.

"It's quite alright Faith" said Giles as he sat on the chair next to the Slayer, "I'm sure that the Detective will change his mind once he's talked to the Colonel, and once the MP's are here to guard your room."

"If you'd excuse me" said the Detective as he dialled the number on his cell phone and then handed the piece of paper back to Giles. The Detective then walked out of the room, while Giles leaned towards Faith.

"Trust builds slowly, Faith" said Giles, "trust that I'll do my best to look out for both you, and Buffy. In return, I would like for you to stay here, and train with me and the military officer. The line goes through you now, Faith. You are Buffy's successor, you just have to want it."

"Ye… yes" said Faith softly as she looked at the hand that was handcuffed to the railing, "yes, I want it."

"Then you need to be patient" said Giles with a smile as Faith narrowed her eyes at him, "the handcuffs will be on you for a while, at least hopefully until the Detective talks with Colonel O'Neill."

"Great" said as Faith tugged softly at the handcuffed, "now all I need is someone with a bullwhip and I have my fantasy fulfilled."

"Huh?" said Giles.

"Nothing" said Faith, "just thinking to myself."

"Very well" said Giles as he leaned back, "do you have anything you would like to ask me?"

"Yea" said Faith as she looked at Giles.

"Fire away" smiled Giles.

TBC.

 


	22. Chapter 22

**Sunnydale Army Base, ten minutes later.**

It had taken some time for the transport plane carrying Colonel O'Neill and the others to land at the army base in the outskirts of Sunnydale. Once the plane taxied to its final destination, the plane stopped and opened it's rear cargo door. Releasing the straps that held them in place, the males of SG1 and Dr. Fraiser walked out of the rear of the plane only to be met by one of the base personnel. HE told them that he was ordered by General Hammond to take them to the hospital.

"Has the girl been secured?" asked the Colonel as he walked next to the officer while the others followed close behind him.

"Yes, Sir" said the officer as he lead them towards an unmarked car, "the M.P's reached the scene not five minutes ago. They've secured the room, however a Rupert Giles has been insisting on staying in the room with the girl. I ok'd that request, sir."

"Good" said the Colonel as he got into the passenger seat while the others all sat in the back. The Colonel looked back and tried to hold back a laugh as he saw the short Chief Medical Officer of the SGC sitting in the middle of the two male members of SG1.

"Sir" said Dr. Fraiser as she looked at the Colonel, "not one word about my lack of height."

"I didn't say anything, Doc" said the Colonel as Daniel stifled a little laugh.

"Daniel?" said the doctor as she looked at the resident archaeologist, "you have something to say?"

"Nothing, Janet" said Daniel as he suddenly found the view outside interesting.

"Teal'c?" asked Dr. Fraiser as she looked at the Jaffa, "anything?"

"I do not, Dr. Fraiser" said Teal'c as he gave the doctor a respectful bow, "I believe your height is adequate."

At that, both the Colonel and Daniel stated to laugh as the doctor crosses her arms over her chest and leaned back on the seat which made her seem even shorter.

"Just you wait" said the doctor as she eyed both the Colonel and Daniel, "the next time you come in for your post-mission checks, I'll make sure I have the longest needles ready to go."

Amid the groans of the Colonel and Daniel, the driver side door opened and the officer who had met them at the plane got in. Starting the car, he looked at the rear view mirror at the red faced and short woman who was seated in between the men.

Opening his mouth to say something, the officer then decided to use his best judgement and said nothing. Opting instead to press his foot on the accelerator and driving the Air Force officers towards Sunnydale.

**Sunnydale General Hospital, 1550 hours.**

Todd Lee has been the administrator of the Sunnydale General Hospital ever since the previous administrator was made to retire. He was installed at the post by the Council so that that he would ensure that Faith be brought to the justice sanctioned by the Council should she awaken from her coma. He's been trained as a hospital administrator with postings at some of the most prestigious hospitals in England, however his loyalty was always to the Council first and foremost. So when he was asked to give up his admittedly posh lifestyle in England for the Hellmouth, he took it with no questions asked. In return, he was promised a better position back in England once Faith was taken care of.

Recently however, his dreams of making sure that one of the most infamous Slayers tasted justice in England were dashed. The first Special Operations Team was taken care of by both Buffy and Giles, not to mention Joyce; and the doctor who was taking care of Faith also failed in his mission to either kill the brunette Slayer, or get her out of the hospital so that she could be sent back to England. The last time Todd heard from him, he was holed up in one of the Council's safe-houses in Sunnydale. Then to top it all off, the Air Force was also involved. He had just received a call from Colonel O'Neill that they were on the way to secure Faith, and they had the paperwork to transfer all of her medical care to Dr. Janet Fraiser. He was told that Faith was a national security asset under the protection of the President and the Pentagon and, in order to make sure that Faith was kept safe, she would be transferred to Sunnydale Memorial's secure wing. As he looked at the paperwork in his hand while waiting for the Colonel and the rest of his team, Todd slowly started seeing red when he thought about the nerve of these people.

'How dare they interfere with Council operations' thought Todd to himself as he paced up and down on the pavement, 'they sent M.P's to guard her even. A murderer, they're guarding a murderer. Someone who helped destroy the world. How dare they?'

Todd then looked at the letter in his hand again and stopped pacing, a smile forming on his face.

'Of course' he thought to himself, 'why didn't I think of it earlier, they want to transfer her to Sunnydale Memorial where it would be more secure for Faith. Where she could supposedly get better treatment. But, since we can't get her while she's in the building, she just needs to be taken when she's being transferred.'

Smiling to himself, Todd then took out his phone after making sure that no one else was listening and dialled an international number.

"Todd" said Travers as he picked up the phone from the Watchers Headquarters in England, "is it done?"

"We've hit a complication" said Todd, "but I have an idea to get Faith back to England; how fast can you send another team here?"

"We can have another team there in an hour" said Travers as he signalled his personal side to make the call to mobilize another Special Operations Team, "what do you have planned?"

"They want to transfer Faith to Sunnydale Memorial" said Todd, "if we they can have authorization for extreme prejudice, then we can get her back and have her in England to face justice by tomorrow."

"How about Miss Summers?" asked Travers, "she and the others will want to go with Faith if you told me earlier is to be believed."

"I am more than certain that she will be in another car with her mother and Mr. Giles" said Todd into the phone, "if not, well… there are always other ways."

"Do what you have to" said Travers, "but get it done. The military has no rights to the Slayers. They are our responsibility."

"I understand" said Todd as he put down the phone as a dark blue sedan with tinted windows drove up to where he was standing. Smiling as the car stopped in front of him, the man looked on as Colonel O'Neill, Daniel, Dr. Fraiser and Teal'c got out of the car and approached him.

"Dr. Lee?" said Dr. Fraiser as she shook the man's hand, "Dr. Janet Fraiser, I'm with special projects at the Pentagon."

"Doctor" said Todd as he nodded at the woman and then looked up at the others.

"This is Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Murray" said Dr. Fraiser as she introduced everyone before turning back to Todd, "I take it you received the order that faith's medical records be transferred to my care?"

"Yes" said Todd as he bristled with anger underneath, "I received it an hour ago."

"Sir" said Dr. Fraiser as she turned towards the Colonel, "with your permission, I'd like to examine her."

"Do what you have to do, Doc" said the Colonel as Dr. Fraiser nodded her head and headed into the hospital while the others talked to Todd about security for Faith.

As Dr. Fraiser headed to Faith's room, she noticed the guards that were standing outside one of the doors.

"Sergeants" said Dr. Fraiser as she nodded her head at the two M.P's and showed them her I.D. They then checked a piece of paper attached to a clipboard.

"Dr. Fraiser" said one of the M.P's as he moved to one side, "your name is on the list, ma'am."

"Thank you" said Dr. Fraiser as she opened the door and walked into the room as Giles stood up from his chair and moved closer to Faith, "Miss Lehane?"

"Yea?" said Faith as she looked at Dr, Fraiser with suspicion, "who're you?"

"My name is Dr. Janet Fraiser" she said as she walked towards Faith and grabbed her medical charts that were hanging at the end of her bed, "your medical care has been transferred to me. So, for all intents and purposes, I'll be your doctor for the foreseeable future."

"Great" said Faith softly.

"Dr. Frasier" said Giles as he extended his hand, "Rupert Giles, I'm Faith's…. friend."

"I see" said the doctor as she walked up to Faith when she noticed that one of her hands were handcuffed to the bed, "what the…?"

"A detective from the Sunnydale Police Department" said Giles as he pointed at the metal cuffs, "he didn't want her escaping even though I assured him that I'll be here with Faith, and that she wouldn't leave."

"One moment" said Janet as she frowned at the cuffs before turning around and walking towards the door again. Opening it, she stood with one foot in the outside hallway as she turned towards one of the guards, "Sergeant, I need your handcuff keys."

"Ma'am" said the Sergeant as he gave her a key which she then took and went back into the room while closing the door behind her.

She then walked calmly towards the bed and removed the cuffs from Faith's hand, much to the surprise of the Slayer and Giles.

"Would it be safe to assume that you wouldn't be going anywhere, young lady?" asked Dr. Fraiser as she looked at Faith's chart before looking at the surprised face on the Slayer, "well?"

"Faith?" said Giles as he gently nudged the brunette.

"Umm… yeah" said Faith as she rubbed the back of her head, "yeah… I'm not going anywhere."

**Second Floor, Sunnydale General hospital.**

Joyce had just finished talking to the doctor when she saw Colonel O'Neill and the others heading towards them alongside an elderly man in a dark blue suit. Smiling at the Colonel as she reached her seat in the waiting room, she picked up her purse from Buffy who stood up and greeted the Colonel as well.

"Hey" said Colonel O'Neill as he looked at Joyce, "heard you guys got into a bit of a kerfuffle?"

"Yea" said Buffy, "creeps injured mom, and Giles."

"They've been caught, I take it?" asked the Colonel as he looked at Todd who nodded his head, "good."

"O'Neill" said Teal'c, "I would like to talk to these individuals to ascertain where they received their orders."

"My security people tried" said Todd, "they're not talking."

"I'd like for you to take Murray and Daniel to these men" said Colonel O'Neill as he looked at Todd, "if anyone can make them talk, I'd be Murray."

"Very well" said Todd, confident that nothing will break the vow of silence under even the most gruesome methods of interrogation that every member of all the Special Operations Team's take before they leave on a mission. He motioned to Teal'c and Daniel to follow him as he turned around and headed towards an elevator.

"Colonel" said Joyce as he turned around again and saw her pointing to a young man and a blonde woman who was walking out of a doctors room with Tara who had her wrist wrapped in a bandage, "I'd like for you to meet Xander Harris, and Anya Jenkins."

"Hey" said Colonel O'Neill as he nodded his head at Xander and Anya, "nice to meet you, Red's been talking a lot about you."

"How is she?" asked Xander, "I know it hasn't been long and…"

"She's coming with Carter tomorrow" said the Colonel as he noticed the smile on Tara's face, "she'll be debriefing Faith on… you know."

"Right" said Xander, "well, we should get back to the room."

"Yea" said Buffy as he rubbed the back of her head nervously, "maybe I should talk to Faith first? I mean, before anyone else."

"Go for it, Buffy" smiled Joyce as she gently placed her hand on her daughter's back, "I think It's time we all talked to her."

"How about you guys go ahead" said the Colonel, "I'd like to talk to Tara."

"Alright" said Joyce as she smiled and nodded her head before leading everyone out towards the elevators on the far side, leaving a nervous Tara alone with Colonel O'Neill.

"Your wrist alright?" asked the Colonel.

"Ye.. yes" said Tara as she looked down at the floor while the Colonel slowly walked towards the blonde.

"Tara" said the Colonel, "I just wanted you to know that we're here if you want to talk. And I mean about anything. I… I've read your file as well, we had to do a deep background check. Daniel told me that you called the police in Eureka to tell them that you were alright?"

"Ye.. yes" said Tara.

"I also heard how you protected Faith" said the Colonel as he pointed at her injury, "I'm guessing that's how your wrist…"

"Yes" said Tara.

"That was a brave thing you did" said the Colonel as Tara looked up and smiled.

"Tha.. thanks" said Tara as she nodded her head, "he was going to harm her, I couldn't…. you know… "

"Come on" said the Colonel as he nodded his head, "lets go back downstairs. I have a feeling Faith will be needing all of you."

TBC.

 


	23. Chapter 23

**Sunnydale Army base, 1830 hours.**

After having talked to General Landry after they finished a training session in the gym, Major Carter and Willow hurried to the lockers where they showered and changed into their street clothes. Then, following the Major out of the mountain, Willow was taken to Petersons where they had a quick bite to eat while waiting for a transport plane to take them to Sunnydale. Then once they were in the air, the Major instructed the pilot to notify Cheyenne Mountain that they were on the way, and that they needed transportation once reaching the Sunnydale Army base.

After talking to the pilot, the Major walked back to her seat next to Willow and sat down. She then strapped herself in while she smiled at the nervous look on Willow's face.

"You don't fly much, Willow?" asked the Major.

"Not really" said the redhead, "don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with flying. It's just that I don't fly that often."

"You haven't been anywhere?" asked the Major.

"Well" said Willow as she titled her head, "my parents are really busy, and they… I mean…"

"What do they do?" asked the Major.

"My mom's a well respected psychologist who specializes in child development" said Willow as she winced slightly, "and dad's a psychiatrist."

"Busy people?" asked the Major as she leaned back on her seat while looking at the redhead.

"Mom's teaching in Cambridge this month" said Willow, "and dad's teaching in Beijing University for a few months. Haven't seen them in a while though."

"They didn't see you before you left Sunnydale?" asked the Major with a frown.

"No" said Willow, "they're busy… and… yeah, they're busy."

The Major looked on as Willow leaned back on her seat and clasped her hands together tightly on her lap.

"So vacations?" asked the Major hoping to cheer Willow up, "where have you been to?"

"Ummm" said Willow as she scratched her head, "I haven't really gone on one. Well, there was one time that we went to Barcelona.. but I don't think that counts as one. Although I like to pretend that it did."

"Huh?" asked the Major confused.

"My nanny wasn't able to look after me" said Willow as she looked at her clasped hands, "they couldn't find one on such short notice, and with them going to Barcelona for such an important conference… well, they had to take me along."

"Had to?" asked the Major surprised as she looked at Willow, "what do you mean had to?"

"It's nothing, Major" said Willow as she looked at the blonde woman with a smile on her face, "It's really nothing."

"Willow" said the Major as she frowned at the redhead.

"My mother had these ideas about how a child should reduce their dependence on others" said Willow, "you know… so that they could become self-reliant."

"OK" said the major as she nodded her head.

"So my parents would leave me with a nanny while they were gone" said Willow as she shrugged her shoulders, "then when I got a little bit older, they let the nanny go and I stayed home alone."

"What?" said the Major shocked, "how old were you?"

"About eleven" said Willow as she looked at the shocked face of Major Carter, "it wasn't that bad. I mean the neighbours would come by every so often; or Xander and Jesse would come by, or I'd go visit Xander."

"I'm sorry" said the Major.

"No" said Willow as she shook her head, "please don't, I don't think I was ever alone."

"What do you mean?" said the Major.

"I never thought anything about it" said Willow, "and my mother would always say that it was my imagination, or that I was seeing things and she'd be disappointed because that would mean that I wasn't being self-reliant enough. But, I think I had a guardian angel looking over me."

"You're serious?" asked the Major.

"I thought I was crazy the first time I saw a pulsing white light out of the corner of my eye" said Willow, "whenever I was lonely, it would be there just outside my field of vision. As if saying that 'I'm here, but you shouldn't see me', and then… the night before I left, I called for the light to come to me. And it did."

"Really?" asked the Major surprised.

"Yea" smiled Willow, "it was a small pulsing white light, so beautiful… it gave off this gentle warmth. It felt peaceful, whatever it was."

"Holy Hannah" said the Major as she looked at Willow, "that really does sound interesting."

"It does" smiled Willow.

"How'd you like to go on a trip?" asked the Major as a surprised Willow turned and looked at the Major, "it's nothing exotic or anything. And you do have some time before the Academy starts, and well… I have to ask Colonel O'Neill and General Hammond, but I'm due to go to a scientific station on another planet. Wanna come with?"

"Really?" asked Willow excitedly, "seriously?"

"If the Colonel and General Hammond agree" said the Major.

"Oh yes please" said a wide eyed and excited Willow as she nodded her head while the Major gave the redhead a very wide grin.

By the time the two of them reached the Sunnydale Army base, it was already starting to get dark. Looking around as she followed the Major out of the rear of the plane, Willow couldn't help but watch out for any creatures of the night. Walking onto the tarmac, he both of them were met by the same officer who picked up the Colonel and the others earlier that day. After the Major and Willow got into the car, he drove them to Sunnydale General where they were met at the lobby by Colonel O'Neill.

"Sir" said the Major as she got out of the car, followed by Willow, "we're here."

"I can see that, Carter" said the Colonel before he looked at Willow, "enjoy the flight, Red?"

"Yep" grinned the redhead, "it was… different."

"Good different?" asked the Colonel as he motioned the both of them to follow him.

"Yes" said Willow.

"How's Faith, Sir?' asked the Major.

"Well" said the Colonel as they headed for an elevator, "we had some issues with one of the local detectives after he found out that Fraiser took off the girl's handcuffs. He threatened to arrest her for interfering in his case, especially when she had insisted that scans be performed on Faith to make sure that she was all right."

"He threaten Dr. Fraiser again, Sir?" asked the Major as she frowned at Willow.

"I told him that we'll be the ones talking to Faith" said the Colonel, "gave him the paperwork and everything that showed she's a national security asset. He just left to talk to his superiors."

"Does she know?" asked Willow, "I mean about what happened?"

"I guessed that you wanted to tell her?" asked the Colonel as he looked at Willow who nodded her head.

"I guess it should be me" said Willow as she sighed, "but I wonder if she'd listen, I told you about all the bad things I said to her.. and well…"

"Miss Summers already talked to her" said the Colonel much to Willow's surprise, "it's more like an uneasy truce now between them. She told Mrs Summers and me that she apologized to her, that she should have taken the blame as well. Basically admitted to Faith that both of them were at fault for what happened in the alley that night."

As the Colonel what explaining the situation to both the Major and to Willow, he recalled what he overheard while he and Joyce were standing outside Faith's room while Xander and the rest had went to get a bite to eat.

"So you finally admit you made a mistake" said Faith, "the queen finally made a mistake that she can admit. Giles told me that you told him what really happened, I didn't believe it at first… but I'm getting a sense of revelry that you admitted but, you know what? It doesn't fix anything between us."

"Faith" said Buffy as she stood at the foot of her bed, "I told you we were both at fault. If we went to Giles together, explained everything to him; then maybe you wouldn't have gone to side with the Mayor. Maybe we could have helped you. He told me in a war, like the one we fight, innocent people die…. And…."

"He told you and even then you never came to me" said Faith, "and that's my point B, you never came to me. I was alone…. I was alone… you have your friends and family and I was off by myself. You, all of you, abandoned me because of something that you now admit the both of us are responsible for. It was probably easy for you anyway, I'm the outsider… I don't belong in your little group."

"Faith" said Buffy.

"No" said Faith, "you have no idea what my life was like, B. You have the perfect life and all I've seen you do is complain and complain."

"You think my life is perfect?" asked Buffy with hurt written over her face, "you know what I've lost? You know the sacrifices I've had t make?"

"Compared to what my life is?" said Faith, "yea, I'd say yours Is perfect. You have a mom who loves you; you know what my mom did?"

"Faith" said Buffy as she shook her head, "we need…."

"You never once asked me what my life was like" said Faith as tears welled up in her eyes, "never…. Not even once did you, Joyce, or any of the others ask me what my life was like. While you were living your perfect existence, my mother was pimping me out… you know what that means right? My mom… the person who's supposed to be taking care of me was so hooked up on drugs and alcohol that she had guys over who would screw her for money.. and then she'd turn around and send them over to me. A little girl against a big man… and you say you had a hard life? That's bull…"

"Faith" said a shocked Buffy, "I…."

Faith was slightly taken aback by the look of shock in Buffy's face and in her voice, but the brunette didn't care. She was already on a roll and she wanted to hit hard, especially to those who she knew were outside the door.

"Yeah" shouted Faith as she looked at the door, "I can hear you breathing, I know you can listen to what I'm saying. You wanna hear my tale of glorious woe, you might as well come in and listen to all the gritty details… not that any of that will matter since I'll probably be put on a shelf and hidden from view anyway. So come on in, let's make it a damn party."

"Faith" said Buffy as she reached for her sister Slayer's hand which Faith immediately jerked away.

"Don't touch me!" said Faith, "don't."

"Faith" said Joyce as she slowly opened the door and walked in slowly with Colonel O'Neill who closed the door behind them, "we're not here to hurt you. It's completely up to you if….."

"I remember your voice in my head, Joyce" said Faith, "your voice changed my dreams to happy ones of having something that I know I could ever have; a family. The truth is, none of you know… not a single one."

"Faith" said Colonel O'Neill as he approached the brunette with his hands rolled into fists, "I know we haven't met yet although you did meet my colleague, Dr. Janet Fraiser. I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, U.S. Air Force. We've run a full background check on you, but nothing about any abuse popped up."

"Typical" said Faith as she glared at the Colonel, "should have know you wouldn't believe me."

"Damn it, Faith" said Buffy, "we're trying to help you now… I'm sorry that we couldn't then, but we are trying now. You're the one who's making it difficult."

"And whose fault is that?" shouted Faith.

"Buffy… Faith" said Joyce sternly, "the both of you are in a hospital, and you're not the only ones."

"Faith" said Colonel O'Neill, "I'm not saying that I don't believe you, but I need to know why this kind of abuse was never documented."

"You want to know?" said Faith, "really? Fine… I'll tell you why. I told my teachers about it. They talked to a social worker, and you know what happened? He came to my house; I thought he was going to take me away from my mother… but no. Mom told him that if he kept silent on the matter then he could have her for free anytime he wanted, and she'd even throw me in as a bonus. So, you tell me what the hell you think he did? And the cops? Please…. They're a joke.. some of them were mom's clients… so what do you think I should have done? Huh?"

"Buffy, Colonel" said a shocked Joyce who was trying to keep her anger under control, "may I talk to Faith alone?"

"Of… of course" said a very stunned Colonel O'Neill who was trying to hide his anger from what Faith just revealed.

"Ye.. yea" replied an equally shocked Buffy as she looked at Faith who was breathing hard and had her head hung low, "Faith, I… I really am sorry about everything."

Joyce waited for Colonel O'Neill and Buffy to close the door just as the others returned. She heard them telling Xander and the other that Faith was talking to Joyce about something private, and that everyone should go find something to do unto they had finished talking.

After hearing footsteps walking away for the room, Joyce walked up to Faith asn sat on the seat next to the brunette. The both of them sat in relative quiet for a few minutes before Faith was the one who opened her mouth.

"I wish you asked" said Faith as she wiped her eyes.

"I am very sorry, Faith" said Joyce, "I was so worried about Buffy being the Slayer and how it affected her, that I never realized to ask you about your life."

"She's your daughter" said Faith softly, "I guess I didn't know what I was expecting."

"Faith" said Joyce as she reached slowly for the Slayer's hand, which was jerked away immediately, "I know it takes time to rebuild some kind of trust between us, and I was hoping that we could start with this. How would you like to live with us?"

"Huh?" said a surprised Faith as she looked at Joyce.

"I never realized how much danger you were in at the motel" said Joyce, "or maybe I did and I just ignored it, but I can't ignore it anymore. I cant make that mistake again. I know it wont be easy, but would you consider living with us."

"B would try to kill me again" said Faith softly as she hung her head again, "I'll just…."

"It's a big house, Faith" said Joyce, "and Buffy and I talked about it, you're welcome to stay with us."

"I heard something's when I was in the coma" said Faith as she ignored Joyce's question, "is it true?"

"Willow's coming soon" said Joyce, "she'll tell you everything."

"But…." Said Faith as Joyce interrupted her.

"All I can tell you is that the Air Force will help you and Buffy" said the blonde, "they, along with Giles, will train you, Buffy, Xander and Anya. They'll even provide counselling for everyone, which I hear is extremely useful."

"Giles already told me" said Faith as she sighed, "he said that I could stay with him, or with you?"

"He told us that you want to be Buffy's successor" said Joyce, "do you still want that?"

"Yes" said Faith.

"Colonel O'Neill will have some questions about what happened to Deputy Mayor Finch and professor Worth" said Joyce as she reached for Faith's hand again. This time, she didn't jerk it was and Joyce held on gently, "just answer him truthfully. He's here to help you, I believe that of all people… he'll understand."

"How do you know?" asked Faith softly.

"I just do" said Joyce, "when he comes back with the others, I'll tell him you're ready."

"Ok" said Faith softly.

Hours later, the Colonel walked out with the Major and Willow into the hallway that led to Faith's room. He told them that he talked to Faith about what happened and she had told the truth about Finch.

"The Professor, Sir?" asked Major Carter as Willow looked on.

"She said that the former Mayor ordered her to kill the man" said the Colonel frowning, "coward."

"So what will happen to her?' asked Willow.

"The police here really have no evidence against Faith" said the Colonel as he looked at Willow, "but she's still wanted for questioning. We'll be asking them to drop the charges since she's still a minor and that there is absolutely no evidence that she actually killed the Professor."

"But she knows she did" said Willow.

"This is why she'll be getting intensive counselling sessions every week" said the Colonel, "but no jail time. She was fighting at the side of the enemy during a time of war, what she was ordered to do was basically assassinate the enemy that her commanding officer said was an enemy who had to be eliminated."

"The Commanding officer being the Mayor?" said Willow as they approached Tara and the others.

"Yep" said the Colonel as he saw Willow grinning widely at her friends.

"Xander!" said Willow as she ran and gave a tight hug to the dark haired man, "I missed you."

"Will" said Xander as he held on tight to the redhead, "you doing alright?"

"Yea" said Willow as she waved at Anya who was standing behind Xander. She then reached for Anya and pulled both Xander and her over to the Major, "I'd like for you guys to meet Major Samantha Carter."

"Hi" said Major Carter as she shook hands with the both of them while Willow hugged both Buffy and Joyce before she faced Tara who still had her wrist bandaged. Willow glanced back and, even though she saw the Colonel and Major talking to Xander and Anya, the redhead tried to keep her interactions with Tara as platonic as possible.

"Your wrist?" said Willow as she stood next to Tara, who guessed that Willow couldn't do much in public in front of the Major and Colonel.

"Just got it sprained" said Tara as she smiled at Willow, "I'll be alright."

"Red" said the Colonel as he walked towards them, "Faith's signed the non-disclosure, so… whenever you're ready."

"Sure" said Willow as she nodded at the Colonel, and then smiled at Tara before she truned around and reached for the doorknob. Taking in a deep breath, she turned the knob and opened the door as she looked at Faith who was sitting up and looking at her.

"Faith" said Willow as she closed the door and slowly walked towards the bed.

"Willow" replied Faith.

"Listen" replied Willow as stood at the foot of Faith's bed, "I… um…. I guess there are some things we need to talk about."

TBC.

 


	24. Chapter 24

**Faith's Room, Sunnydale General, 1815 hours.**

As Willow and Faith looked at each other from each end of the room, the redhead could feel the tension in the air as she recalled every mean thing she had ever told Faith, including the part where the brunette Slayer would always be alone, that she was friendless and a big selfish worthless waste during the incident when Faith captured her while she was in the Mayor's office trying to get more information on the Books of Ascension. Shaking her head, she slowly walked towards the bed and grabbed the chair that Joyce had sat on earlier that day. Tension think in the air, Willow sat down next to the Slayer who had been watching her like a hawk and sat down.

"So" said Faith, "I was told that you were the one who was supposed to tell me something? Something important? Joyce told me some stuff while I was in the coma, but…. She and the old guy said that I should ask you."

"Yea" said Willow as she starched her head nervously, "a few months ago, I was almost kidnapped by a secret military organization that was supposedly located beneath U.C. Sunnydale."

"They didn't get you" said Faith as she nodded at Willow, "obviously."

"They would have" said Willow, "one of them was…. Well… Could have been a good friend one day who said he was simply following the orders of my psychology professor. Well, mine and Buffy's professor who we never knew was the leader of that organization."

"Seriously?" asked Faith genuinely surprised.

"Yea" said Willow when she shook her head, "anyway, I was almost taken from the parking lot outside the building by him and his teammates when the Air Force officers outside rescued me."

"Including the Old dude?" asked Faith.

"Yea" smiled Willow, "including him, and me."

"Wait… what?" asked Faith confused, "you save yourself?"

"Whatever you remember from what Mrs. Summers told you is true" said Willow, "I was saved by a version of myself who came here from another reality, as well as two more people. They came here through a piece of alien technology known as a Quantum Mirror."

"No way" said Faith as her eyes opened wide, "aliens? As in real life 'hey look, we crashed in Roswell and do anal probe' aliens?"

"I don't know about the probe" said Willow as she smiled, "or the Roswell thing, but there are aliens. Met only one where I'll be working after I graduate, and saw the technology of another when they healed Mrs. Summers after she was shot by a soldier after my alternate and the guys outside pretty much took that organization down."

"Joyce was shot?" asked Faith as Willow nodded her head.

"The Professor and two others came to Buffy's house to take us away" said Willow, "another woman who came from the alternate reality saved us, but she was shot by one of the soldiers while I used magic to literally throw another one away. But I was prevented from doing anything else before I was taken down."

"Oh" replied Faith as she tried to get her mind around what she was hearing.

"They have beaming technology, Faith" said Willow excitedly as she stood up, "you know, like in Star Trek? These aliens have beaming technology… I saw it with my own eyes. They beamed in my alternate who was a Captain in the Air Force and another woman I thought would never be anything other than…. I mean…."

"You saw me?" asked Faith as she looked on surprised. She heard what Joyce was telling her when she was in the coma, but having it confirmed was too surreal.

"Yea" said Willow, "I saw the alternate version of you… I saw the person ou could become, Faith. You saved the my life, and you saved that woman's life as well. She asked Mrs. Summers to look after you, to be there for you because she didn't want the same things that happened to her, to happen to you."

"What was I like?" asked Faith softly.

"Badass" said Willow as Faith looked at her and smirked, "plus I think you were kinda gay."

"huh?" said Faith confused.

"Yea" said Willow, "you were in a relationship with my alternate; even wanted to have a threesome with me."

"Get out" said Faith surprised when she suddenly had a smile creep onto her face, "umm…. I don't mind.. I mean I haven't given much thought to it so if you and Tara are game then…."

"Huh?" said Willow surprised as Faith broke out laughing.

"You.. you know. I mean about me and Tara?" asked Willow nervously, "and no… no threesome…. I mean.. not now… wait.. I mean.."

"Can't take it back" grinned Faith as she enjoyed watching the redhead blush and babble, "anyway, that's me… I see things as they are. Tara was blushing when I mentioned your name, so I just took a lucky guess."

"But you can't tell the Air Force" said Willow nervously, "it's… well…."

"I won't" said Faith, "what else can you tell me about my other self?"

"The Captain had telepathic abilities" said Willow, "she showed me visions of her abilities, what she does for a living.. she even showed me you. You were happy Faith, I mean genuinely happy. I recently saw my duplicate again."

"Really?" asked Faith.

"She made Major" said Willow, "she was heavily injured while saving her ship and crew, including your alternate. Knowing what she goes through every day, and knowing how hard she's working to save others is what I want to do. It cemented my decision to join the Air Force. Buffy's joining the Air Force after a year so that she can help catch you up to things, and so that the torch can truly be transferred to you."

"Giles told me" said Faith, "I still can't imagining me joining the military."

"Well you were more like a civilian contractor" said Willow, "but military trained, and disciplined. The same things that would happen when you and the others receive training from the military now. It's a great opportunity Faith. You get to be happy; you'll have a family that you can call your own. That's what made your alternate happy, that's what Captain Willow showed me."

While Willow told Faith what the other Willow had shown her telepathically; outside, Teal'c and Daniel were done talking to the prisoners while Colonel O'Neill finished talking to Giles. He had told the watcher that while he didn't agree with Buffy being forced to fight things while she was a minor, he understood that if she wasn't trained by Giles then it could have been a whole lot worse.

"She could have died much earlier" said Colonel O'Neill as he and Giles stood in one corner while Joyce was talking to Major Carter, Buffy, Xander and Anya.

"Yes" said Giles, "I made my share of mistakes too, particularly in Buffy's Cruciamentum, but I'm glad that she's forgiven me for that."

"She told us about what happened" said the Colonel, "you did the right thing in telling Buffy about it, but my real concern are with this Council."

"Do you think they'll try to come after Faith again?" asked Giles as he looked at the Colonel. The frown from him confirmed the same thing that the Watcher was thinking as well. That the council would do anything possible to get Faith back for their version of justice, "I assume you have a plan?"

"The problem is that we don't know who else is involved with them" said the Colonel, "Miss. Maclay told us that one o the doctors was involved so we can safely assume that more are keeping a lookout for what we're doing in regards to Faith."

"We would also have to prove that the Council were involved in what happened today" said Giles, "and the Special Operations Team they said has been trained to protect the Council. In fact, the Council will disavow their connection to Collin's and the others."

"So you're sure that they'll send another team?" asked Colonel O'Neill.

"Extremely sure" replied Giles as the Colonel saw Daniel and Teal'c walking down the hallway.

"T? Danny?" said the Colonel, "anything?"

"Oh yeah" said Daniel, "you owe me a hundred."

"They gave up everything?" asked the Colonel as Giles looked on surprised, "and I mean everything?"

"Indeed" said Teal'c with a slight nod to his head, "I believe the Tau'ri term is, 'they spilled their beans'."

"How?" asked Giles, "they were trained to resist any interrogation techniques."

"You showed them Junior, didn't you?" asked the Colonel smirking.

"Indeed" said Teal'c stoically, "I may have mentioned that my symbiote requires a host to feed on, and the first one to speak would not be its food."

"Let me guess…." Said the Colonel as he glanced at Giles before Daniel interrupted him.

"All of them spoke at the same time" grinned Daniel, "so much for tough."

"Interesting" said Giles as he fixed his glasses and looked at Teal'c, "it seems like there are some things that Willow and Buffy has neglected to tell us, so you are…."

"I am a Jaffa" said Teal'c as Willow opened the door and smiled at the Jaffa, "Willow Rosenberg, have you finished talking with Faith Lehane?"

"Yeah" said Willow as she motioned towards Major Carter, Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c and Daniel, "she's ready."

"Good" said Colonel O'Neill before he turned to Joyce, "Mrs. Summers, we'll just have a quick chat with Faith before getting her to Sunnydale Memorial. Maybe it would be better if we meet you all there?"

"Sure" said Joyce.

"How about I stay behind?" asked Buffy, "while Tara, Xander and Anya accompany mom to Sunnydale Memorial?"

"If it's agreeable with the Colonel" said Giles as he looked at Colonel O'Neill before turning back towards Buffy, "you should stay with your mother and the others, there is no way to know if the Council will send another team after Faith. They were bold enough to try and hurt Joyce and Tara, so I would not put it past them."

"Alright" said Colonel O'Neill nodding at Giles, "sounds good to me. Carter?"

"Sir?" said the Major as she ran to the Colonel's side, "stay with Mrs. Summers and the other would you? We'll meet up with you at Sunnydale Memorial."

"Of course, Sir" said the Major as she walked towards Buffy and the other before gathering them around and them moving out.

The Colonel then turned back towards Giles and asked him to come inside as well. He told him that he won't be able to know everything that they, and Willow and Buffy will be doing later after graduation, but he will know enough.

"Alien Technology" said Giles nodding his head as the Colonel closed the door.

"That's the gist of it" said Colonel O'Neill, "thanks to the Council; the British government will be notified about the project we're a part of. In the meantime, all of your security clearances just increased by a bunch of level, congrats."

"Ummm… thank you?" said Giles as he walked up to, and stood next to Faith at the head of her bed.

Once they had all gathered in the room, Colonel O'Neill asked Faith to tell them about what happened with Finch, and Professor Worth in her own words. As she spoke to the Colonel and the others, Giles had his hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze whenever she seemed to be unsure about telling them something. The Colonel even asked her about her battle with Buffy, and he smiled to himself when he was able to verify that information. Eventually, everyone just looked at each other in the room once Faith had stopped talking.

"So" said Faith, "now you know the truth…. So what happens?"

"I get taken away?" asked Faith, "Jail time?"

"Colonel?" said Willow as she looked at the man.

"I'll tell you what we told Buffy" said Colonel O'Neill, "accidents happen. In a war, innocents will die.. we don't like it but it happens. As for what happened to Professor Worth, you were under orders to kill him; orders that were given by the Mayor. I understand that he became a father figure to you, and that you wanted someone like that in your life. But, it happened… you performed an assassination for your Commanding Officer. You'll be haunted by it… you'll remember it… but you also have to look towards the future."

"Faith Lehane, Rupert Giles" said Teal'c as he stepped forwards and walked towards the brunette Slayer and the Watcher, "Willow Rosenberg and Buffy Summers known about my past, and it is time you do as well. I am Teal'c of Chulak, and I have been the First Prime of the false god Apophis."

"Why did you serve under him as this… ummm…. First Prime?" asked Giles.

"It is the highest honour among the Jaffa to be chosen as the First Prime" said Teal'c, "it brought my family security, however top maintain that security… I have had to commit unspeakable crimes in the name of the false god."

"So you killed?" said Faith softly.

"I have" replied Teal'c, "those who Apophis ordered killed, they would be…. If not by my hands… then by the hands of other Jaffa. Eventually, with the help of my Master Bra'tac, I discovered that Apophis and those like him were not gods… they were parasites that took human hosts."

"I see" said Giles, "that is interesting; I've heard stories of demons that inhabit humans to be used as puppets. They wouldn't have any will of their own, the only thing that would control them would be the demon."

"Looks like snakes?" asked the Colonel.

"There were never descriptions of the demon" said Giles, "just reports that people would be acting different."

"They started to become overdressed?" asked the Colonel, "penchant for jewellery? Glowy eyes? Huge ego?"

"Not that I have heard" said Giles, "the last report was thousands of years ago."

"Must have been during the time Ra was on Earth" mumbled Daniel under his breath. He then approached Giles, "do you mind if I take a look at your studies, and research?"

"Certainly" said Giles nodding his head at the archaeologist who he still couldn't believe was right about aliens using the pyramids as landing pads. He recalled his first meeting with Daniel who was equally surprised that he, Dr. Rupert Giles who was the former curator of the British Museum, ended up in a small town called Sunnydale.

"The Council ordered me to become Buffy's Watcher" Giles had told him, "I am sorry that you have been able to publically prove your theories correct. It would make all those who laughed at your theories eat crow."

"I'm sure you would be one of those who laughed at the idea" said Daniel his eyebrow raised."

"Perhaps" said Giles, "but travelling to other worlds, meeting other civilizations much be amazing."

"It is" said Daniel nodding his head before they went to talking about more mundane matters.

Back in the present, Teal'c was tell Faith about everything he had to do, despite knowing that Apophis was a false god, "I tried to help people when I could, however there were time when I had to do what was necessary to continue being his First Prime."

"Or else he would have had someone else take over your position; after having you killed" said Giles as Teal'c nodded his head.

"I have been alive for a long while" said Teal'c, "and during that time, I have committed great acts of violence in Apophis' name. Then one day I encountered O'Neill and SG1. They were the hope that I had been searching for, the Tau'ri have the courage and the will to defeat the Goa'uld and free my people."

"How goes that?" asked Faith.

"We are slowly making headway" said Teal'c as he sat down on the chair next to Faith's right side, "I am confident that we will succeed. Faith Lehane, acts committed in the past should not define the person you are now, what matters is what you do from now onwards to the future."

Faith could only look at the Jaffa and smile, and then look at all the others in the room.

"You don't have to be alone Faith" said Giles, "Teal'c is correct; what happened, happened… you need to look towards the future."

"You'll be given counselling" said the Colonel, "someone will be sent from the Army base to train you, Buffy, Anya and Xander. Mr. Giles will work with him on a training schedule for all of you. It will be a mixture of armed, using both modern non-lethal and medieval weapons, and unarmed combat."

"I can handle the medieval weapon training" said Giles as the Colonel nodded his head.

"But the counselling is a must" said the Colonel as he looked at Faith, "Xander will have to go thought it as well. Willow will be getting counselling at the Academy, while Buffy will be getting it here and then later at the Academy."

"Faith" said Willow softly, "the one I met… the version of you I met… she was happy. I mean super happy. Captain Willow showed me what you would be like if you had a family looking out for you, a family who'd be there to catch you when you fall; a family that would help you back up and care for you. I know I'm not the greatest person to be telling you all this… but, I want to change. I want to get to know you, Faith. It's something we should have done a long time ago. So what do you say?"

"I want my own room" said Faith as she gave little smirk, "and some pizza… you know how horrible the hospital food is?"

"We'll talk to Janet about that" said Daniel smiling.

"And" said Faith as she looked at Giles and then at Willow, "I'd like to go home."

TBC.

 


	25. Chapter 25

**Office of the Administrator, Sunnydale General, 1900 hours.**

Todd Lee had a huge problem now. He knew it and the Council, who were notified about the capitulation of Collins and his people, also knew it. After talking to the Watchers Council Headquarters in London, it was agreed between Lee and Travers that the first Special Operations team that was sent had to be neutralized before they could speak any further to the military.

"Do you know why they spoke?" asked Travers as he spoke on the phone to Lee a few minutes ago.

"No, sir" said Lee, "I just heard from one of our operatives that they had said that the Council was involved in the attempted kidnapping and killing of Miss Lehane. She wasn't able to hear much since guards were posted outside the interview rooms. I asked the operative to perform another sweep but, although the interviewers are gone, the guards still remain."

"Miss Lehane is now the second priority" said Travers, "we can get to her at a time of our choosing. But Collins and his team, I want the order given to the second Special Operations Team to take care of them. They put the Council in danger and they are to be put down, am I clear?"

"Crystal clear, sir" said Lee as he nodded his head before he put the phone down.

Now, all he could do was lean back on his chair and rub his forehead in frustration. He then looked up to the clock in his office and noted to himself that the second team should be in Sunnydale by now. Leaning forward, he picked up phone when there was a knock on his door. Cursing to himself softly, he put the phone back down and told whoever it was to come in.

Standing up from his chair, he was surprised to find both Dr. Fraiser and Colonel O'Neill walking into his office carrying some documents. Welcoming them to his office, the man then asked them if they wanted anything to drink before motioning them towards the seats across from his desk.

"No, thank you" said Dr. Fraiser when asked about the drink, before she sat down.

"Same here" said the Colonel as he took his seat as Lee sat down and stared at the two of them.

"So" he said, "how can I help you folks?"

Dr. Fraiser then handed him documents that confirmed Faith would be kept under her care and that she would be transferred to Sunnydale Memorial Hospital in less than thirty minutes. Nodding his head at that revelation, he then asked about the people who had broken into his hospital to try and kill Faith.

"You don't have to worry about them" said the Colonel smiling, "just know that the police have looked everywhere and have yet to find that missing doctor who tried to kill Faith after those three tried their best."

"I've already talked to the police about that" said Lee while grabbing a pen and signing his name on one of the documents, thus authorizing the transfer of Faith to Sunnydale General, "there are many doctors who work here, and I have to be honest when I say that I can't keep track of each and every one of them. For all I know, he could be a stranger who came in and tried to kill Miss. Lehane."

"Which mean you'd have to beef up security here" said the Colonel.

"Yes" nodded Lee, "two intrusions in one day; in a facility that's meant to heal the sick and dying, and keep them safe is a personal insult to me. Do I'll be definitely doing everything I could to improve security around here, you can count on it."

"I don't doubt it" said the Colonel as Lee handed the documents back to Dr. Frasier, "see ya."

"Thank you" said Dr. Fraiser before she turned around and walked out of the door with Colonel O'Neill.

After the door had closed, Lee had remained standing with his hands rolled into fists. He bristled with anger as he walked to the large window in his office and looked out at the city while thinking about the rogue Slayer who is escaping Council justice, and the Special Operations Team led by Collins that just betrayed the Council. Making a final decision, he rushed back to his desk and picked up the phone while dialling a number.

"Roslyn" said Lee as a woman picked up on the other line, "Collins and his team will be taken out of this facility in less than thirty minutes. It is more than likely that he and the team will be take to the Army base, but either way… there is only one way out of this hospital. Get the license plate number and description of the vehicle that Collins and his team will be transported him and give that information to the Second Team. They are to neutralize Collins and the others before they are brought to the Army base. Is that clear?"

"Yes" said Roslyn as she put her cell phone back into her starched white nurses uniform and walked out into the bright hallway of the hospital.

**Faith's Room, 1910 hours.**

It had taken some time for Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Fraiser to get a wheelchair before walking back to Faith's room where Teal'c, Giles, Willow and Daniel were waiting outside the door while she was changing into a fresh set of clothes. After talking for some time, Dr. Fraiser knocked on the door to ask Faith if she was done changing. Once she received the Slayer's affirmative, she pushed the wheelchair into the room while Faith sat back down on the bed. Staring at the wheelchair as Willow and the others were walking in, she started to shake her head.

"No way am I going in that" said Faith as she pointed at the wheelchair, "no way, not even if you pay me."

"Well" said Dr. Fraiser as she looked at Faith with her hands on her hips, "you were in a coma for months and I'm afraid your leg muscles will still be weak. True you were able to put on your clothes by yourself, but I can see how hard you're breathing right now. So…. No more complaining, you will take a seat on the wheelchair.. and you will enjoy it… is that understood young lady?"

Faith then narrowed her eyes, leaned sideways and looked at Colonel O'Neill and the others who were standing behind Dr. Fraiser.

"She always this mean?" asked Faith as she glanced at the red haired doctor.

"Very much" said both Colonel O'Neill and Daniel together as Dr. Fraiser turned around and glared at them. However, Teal'c was the only one who refused to say a word and all he did was look around the room nervously.

"You know" said Dr. Fraiser as she looked at both Daniel and the Colonel, "I seem to remember the both of you have high blood pressure and cholesterol… I'll have to tell Mrs. Summers no cake for either of you."

"Doc… Janet" said Colonel O'Neill and Daniel respectively as she turned around grinning and looked at Faith.

"So" said Janet, "you want to eat chocolate cake? Or not?"

"O…K" said Faith as she leaned to the side again and saw the downcast faces on both the Colonel and Daniel while Willow and Giles were covering their mouths to hide their smiles. Faith then straightened up and nodded her head as she slowly got up, and walked towards the wheelchair before sitting down.

"Faith" said Giles as he approached her after she sat down and started panting, "you'll be alright. We'll start training once Dr. Fraiser gives you the go ahead. In the meantime, I'd like for you to relax. Alright?"

Faith nodded her head before Dr. Frasier started to push her out of the room while the others stayed inside. Giles looked at the faces on both Daniel and Colonel O'Neil and tried to hide his smile.

"So" said Giles as they walked out of the room, "I take it that Dr. Fraiser's strict when it comes to health matters."

"Yeah" said Daniel as he scratched the back of his head, "she's the best we have."

"Even if she is a Napoleonic power monger" mumbled the Colonel when suddenly Dr. Frasier stopped and glanced behind her.

"I heard that, Colonel" said the doctor as Giles and the others stopped and looked at Colonel O'Neill, "no fried food for you until your next physical."

"But…" said the Colonel.

"Jack" smiled Daniel, "you just had to…"

"Same goes for you, Daniel" said Dr. Frasier as she looked at the bespectacled archaeologist, "I'll inform General Hammond once we arrive at Sunnydale Memorial that the both of you have been put on a restrictive diet."

"But" said the both of them together as Dr. Fraiser pushed Faith's wheelchair while whistling a tune while the dark haired Slayer was laughing. It was a few seconds later that Willow, Teal'c and Giles walked past the stunned men and followed Dr. Fraiser and Faith to the elevator.

"Mrs. Summers makes the best chocolate cakes" said Willow as she looked at Teal'c who bowed respectfully towards her, "and some really good pumpkin pie, although she only bakes that during Christmas. But her cakes are simply to die for."

"Red!" said the Colonel as Faith laughed even harder before they walked into the elevator and held the door for both the Colonel and Daniel.

"You always get me into trouble" whispered Daniel as he glared at the Colonel who smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Watch this" said the Colonel as they walked into the elevator. Just as the doors closed, Daniel looked on shocked as the Colonel turned around and asked Dr. Frasier if she really liked the air down there, which brought another laughing fit from Faith as the diminutive doctor glared at the Colonel who simply grinned back.

**Lobby, Sunnydale General Hospital.**

As Faith was wheeled to the waiting car outside the lobby, it was Giles who had helped her up from the chair. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed four M.P's who escorted the three members of the Special Operations team as they glared at Faith and Giles.

Giles, for his part, could only look back at them and shake his head. He still couldn't believe what had happened within the past few hours. Faith was almost murdered, and they even tried to take him and Joyce out of the picture.

'It was extremely lucky that Buffy got there in time' thought Giles as he saw the men being bundled into another SUV. They saw two of the M.P's go into the driver's side, and passengers side seats respectively while the other two M.P's bundled the handcuffed Collins and the others into the backseat of the SUV before getting in themselves.

"Faith" said Colonel O'Neill as he held the door open for the dark haired Slayer, "come on, let's get you checked out. And if the doc thinks everything's alright with you by tomorrow, then you'll be relaxing at Mrs. Summers' home."

"Cool" replied Faith as Teal'c and Daniel helped Faith into the other SUV that was right in front of the one carrying the captured Special Operations Team. Willow followed Faith into the SUV, followed by the others while Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c sat in the drivers and passengers side respectively.

"Doc?" said the Colonel as he looked at the reflection of Dr. Fraiser who was seated on the other side of Faith, "our girl alright?"

"Yes, sir" said Dr. Fraiser after she looked at Faith, who nodded her head.

"Alrighty" replied the Colonel as he started the SUV and drove out of the hospital which was soon followed by the SUV carrying the Special Operations Team. However, none of them noticed a dark haired woman in a nurse's uniform peeking out at the group from the far corner of the hospital behind the second SUV. If they had noticed her, they would have also seen that she was talking on a phone which she then put back into her pocket before she turned around and disappeared behind the hospital.

Outside the hospital lay an intersection where a moving van lay in wait on the side on one street, while another black van lay on the side of another street. In the van were three members of the second team, while the fourth was in the moving van as it lay in wait. The leader of this team just received a call from the Council operative known only as Roslyn that two SUV's, the first one carrying Faith had just left and that they were to avoid it until they were given orders to take her out.

"Fine" said the leader of the second team who was in the black van, "and the other one?"

"It just left" said the woman as the leader just saw the SUV carrying Faith drive right down the street in front of them. The leader then turned on his van and flickered his headlights, signalling the other moving van that it was time.

The leader saw the headlights of the approaching SVU shining on the asphalt of the road when he gave another signal to the driver of the moving van. HE smiled when he saw the van accelerate and hit the SUV on its rear left side. Watching the SUV spin around, the leader then accelerated and rammed the van into the side of the vehicle. Slightly dazed after ramming into the SUV, the leader noticed the driver of the SUV taking out a cell phone. The leader and the other members of the Special Operations Team rushed out of the van and headed towards the SUV with weapons, equipped with silencers, drawn. They fired into the SUV hitting the driver in his chest, before doing the same to the passenger as well.

The third and fourth man shot through the side windows before opening the door, and walked over the two dazed M.P's before they too were shot. The fourth man, then leaned over the row of seats that the M.P's were sitting on and pointed his weapon at the dazed members of the first Operations Team before they were shot through their chests; killing them instantly.

"Let's go" said the leader as he and the others rushed into their damaged van and drove off down the street before turning a corner that would get them onto one of Sunnydale's busy main streets. The operation had only taken a few seconds, a few seconds and they had killed the traitors that exposed the Council to harm. Now the second Operations team had to burn the van they were in, before changing vehicles and wait for the order to go after Faith.

TBC.

 


	26. Chapter 26

**First SUV, 1925 hours.**

Willow and the others were talking to each other as they sat comfortably in the back of the SUV while Colonel O'Neill was driving. It had been five minutes since they left Sunnydale General for Sunnydale Memorial which was another fifteen minutes away at the center of the city. Willow listened as Daniel had called Major Carter and told her that Faith, and them, were on the way to the hospital. It was after Daniel put down the cell phone that the Colonel received a call. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he threw it back at Daniel and asked him to answer since he was driving.

"Colonel O'Neill's phone" said Daniel as the smile on his face vanished.

"Dr. Jackson?" asked Giles when he noted the sudden look of shock on his face.

"Jack!" shouted Daniel, "go back, the SUV carrying the team from the Council's been hit."

"Damn it!" shouted the Colonel, "everyone hold on!"

The Colonel made a hard left turn on the steering wheel and the SUV turned hard onto the opposite lane as everyone in the SUV smelled the burning rubber from the tyres. He then floored the accelerator pedal and the SUV shot towards Sunnydale General once again.

"I've already called the police and the ambulance services, Jack" said Daniel as the Colonel kept on driving without saying a word.

It took less than two minutes at full speed through the empty streets to reach the side of the smashed second SUV.

"Oh Lord" said Giles as he quickly stepped down and stared at the smashed rear end of the SUV which was facing them, and then he and the others ran towards the front of the SUV where they saw the smashed front end. They also saw the smashed front end of the abandoned moving truck while Dr. Fraiser and Daniel rushed to the back doors while Teal'c, Giles and Colonel O'Neill opened the front doors.

Willow was standing outside the open back door of the first SUV while Faith watched what was happening from the inside. Colonel O'Neill had told the redhead to stay with Faith, and stay near the SUV while the others checked things out. It was a few minutes later that Willow brought her hands to her face in shock when the Colonel looked up at her and shook his head. He and Giles walked up to them and told them that the members of the Special Operations Team was dead, as well as the four M.P's.

"They did it" whispered Faith as she looked at the destruction in front of her and then at Giles and the Colonel, "they did this to get back at me."

"They did it to save themselves" said Giles as he looked at Faith, "this wasn't your fault, Faith."

"We knew they would try something" said Colonel O'Neill as he rubbed his face in frustration, "but this? And they were so brazen that they did this near a hospital."

It was then that they saw Dr. Frasier running towards them and stopped in front of the Colonel, just as they heard sirens coming down the street and from the hospital.

"Sir" she said, "with your permission, I would like to conduct their autopsies in the Army Base."

"I'll call Hammond" said the Colonel as Daniel ran back to the group and handed the phone back to the Colonel. He then looked at the phone and then back at Dr. Fraiser, "you know what, tell those EMT's to send the bodies to Sunnydale Memorial. This just confirms that Sunnydale General has a leak somewhere, and I'd prefer that they not know that they succeeded."

"Sir?" said Dr. Fraiser as the Colonel turned around and flipped open his phone to call the General.

"Tell those EMT's that those bodies are a national security matter now" said the Colonel as he hid his rage while he brought his phone to his ear, "and I want you to tell their dispatcher that one of our men is critically wounded, but alive. Think of some injury that requires them to be moved to Sunnydale Memorial. "

"Sunnydale Memorial has an excellent trauma center for spinal injuries" said Dr. Fraiser.

"Fine" said the Colonel as he tried to hide his anger, "tell the dispatchers that one of the M.P's has spinal injuries, but he's alive. He's being moved to Sunnydale Memorial since that's the best place for treatment. Then I want Teal'c and Daniel sitting up front with the driver of each of the two ambulances carrying our people so that they don't do anything funny."

"Got it, Jack" replied Daniel as he ran back to tell Teal'c about the plan.

The Colonel then nodded at Dr. Fraiser, who ran off to do what the Colonel had told her, as General Hammond picked up his phone at the SGC. The Colonel turned around and walked while telling the General what had just happened to the prisoners and the M.P's.

**Office of the Administrator, 1935 hours.**

Todd Lee was leaning back on his leather chair as he smiled and looked at the clock on the wall that was facing him. HE had received a call from the leader of the second Special Operations Team a few minutes earlier who told him that the mission was complete; however there had been some collateral damage in the form of the four M.P's.

"I see" said Lee over his cell phone, "but are they all dead?"

"Yes, sir" said the voice of the leader.

"Very well" said Lee smiling into the phone, "the Council is protected; no one lived to tell anything… now stand by, and wait for orders."

"We'll be at one of the Sunnydale safe-houses" said the leader as he cut the line from his end and stepped into another van, after putting their previous van on fire.

'Under a minute' thought Lee as he smiled to himself, 'it took the second team under a minute to take care of those traitors. Too bad about the M.P's… oh well, wrong place wrong time.'

Standing up from the chair, Lee then walked towards the large window to his side and separated the blinds. When he did, he watched red and blue lights nearby at an intersection and his smile grew even wider.

'The Council always comes first' he thought to himself, 'no one is above them, and now Miss Lehane… you will be next.'

As he continued to look out the window with a smile plastered on his face, he turned around when his cell phone rang, the same phone he used to talk with the leader of the second team. Happy with the success of this particular mission, he walked calmly towards his desk and pick up the small cell phone that was ringing.

"Lee" he said after connecting the call.

"Sir" said Roslyn who was on the other line, "they're still alive."

"What?" exclaimed Lee as he sat down on the chair, "I was told that the first team has been neutralized."

"I mean the military personnel who guarded them" said Roslyn, "I just overheard the Air Force doctor, who had come to the hospital for Miss Lehane, tell the dispatchers that one of them was still alive. That he were being sent over to Sunnydale Memorial because the bullet could have impacted his spine. Apparently all he said was that he couldn't feel anything before passing out; but he is alive."

"He can identify the team" said Lee as he rubbed his forehead in frustration, "I'll contact the team again, tell them to get over to Sunnydale Memorial and finish the job."

"But sir" said Roslyn but was interrupted by Lee.

"The Council has to be protected at all costs, Roslyn" said Lee, "we are the shield that protects this world, and no one will interrupt that, is that understood?"

"Of course, sir" said Roslyn as she nodded her head, "however, would it be wise to send the team?"

"Mr. Giles has not met the operatives in this team" said Lee, "so he would not know who they are, or what they look like. They can get in and finish the job, before anyone knows that they're there."

"Very well, sir" said Roslyn, "shall I contact Mr. Travers?"

"No" replied Lee, "I'll do that… perhaps it's time you go home."

"Yes, sir" said Roslyn as she put down the phone as she walked down a long hallway before getting into an elevator.

**Sunnydale Memorial, 1945 hours.**

Major Samantha Carter was in the lobby waiting for the SUV that was carrying Faith and the others to reach Sunnydale Memorial. IN order to pass the time, she and Joyce were making small talk while Buffy, Xander, Tara and Anya were off at a vending machine at a corner of the lobby. While talking to each other, the Major's phone rang. She excused herself, before opening it and bringing the phone to her ear, which was when she received the news about what happened.

"Sir?" said the Major who still couldn't believe it as Joyce heard her voice and noticed the strange look on the younger blonde's face, "how? When?"

Joyce noticed the shocked look on Major Carter's face with led the older blonde to stand up before she took a quick glance at Buffy and the others to make sure that they're alright. Walking towards the Colonel, she heard the word 'murder' coming from the Major as she closed her eyes and shook her head. Stopping a few feet away, Joyce looked on as the Major put her phone back in her pocket before looking at her.

"Major?" asked Joyce as she took a few steps forward, "everything alright?"

"Mrs. Summers" said Colonel Carter quietly, "we need to get Buffy and the others; something happened."

Nodding her head, she and Joyce walked towards the vending machine where Buffy and the others were talking. They then took the little group back out to the secured wing of the hospital where Faith would be kept in, at least until Dr. Fraiser had decreed that she would be alright to go home.

Once they reached the floor, the Major showed the M.P's her I.D and asked them if they were already notified by General Hammond from the SGC, in regards to the situation.

Nodding their heads, the M.P's turned around and input a code key on a small number panel that opened the doors into the secured wing. After confirming with the M.P's that there was absolutely no one in the wing, that it had been emptied of all patients and doctor for the past few hours; ever since the call came down from General Hammond hours ago. Thanking the guards, the Major ordered them to wait for Colonel O'Neill before they could be dismissed.

Closing the door after the group had gone in; the Major led them to an empty room where Buffy and the others turned around as the Major closed the door behind her. She then took a few steps forward and told them what had happened, that the second SUV carrying the prisoners was ambushed outside the hospital and that they along with the four M.P's were killed.

"What?" said Joyce and Buffy in shock, as the others just looked at each other stunned.

"I wish it was a joke" said Major Carter, "but it's not. According to Mr. Giles, the Council would have sent another team after the first one was captured…. But we never expected for them to hit us so soon. We fast-tracked the transfer to the Sunnydale Army base, and paid for it."

"But they were high value targets" said Xander, "I thought…. I mean isn't there a protocol.. or something? You know…"

"Yea" said the Major as she looked at Xander, "but we were in a rush to get them to the army base. It was our fault, but now.."

"Now?" said Buffy.

"The Colonel suspects that someone at Sunnydale General tipped off the Council" said Major Carter, "he suspects someone already. In the meantime, he's using the M.P's as bait…. Even though he's sickened by the act, he knows that this second team will want to finish the job. Dr. Fraiser has already told Sunnydale General that one of the M.P's has been transferred to the secure wing of the hospital. They were also told that Faith had a breakdown after learning that she was the cause for everyone dying, and that she had to be sedated."

"But she didn't?" asked Joyce in concern, "I mean, she didn't breakdown?"

"No" said the Major, "she's upset about what happened but…."

"Guess she does have real feelings, huh?" said Xander as everyone looked at him as he shrugged his shoulders, "I'm just saying.. I mean my history with her isn't that grand just so you know."

"Major?" said Buffy as she looked back at the blonde woman, "she and Willow are on the way?"

"Yes" replied the Major, "we're sure that the second team hasn't seen our faces; so Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c will be taking the places of the M.P's standing guard, while Daniel will be playing the role of one of the M.P's."

"Haven't they seen his face?" said Tara, "I mean… you know…. Haven't they seen the faces of the people they shot?"

"We're hoping that the second team would want to get the job done quick" said Major Carter, "Colonel O'Neill is guessing that they don't want to tip anyone off so they'll be using silencers under the cover of the room's darkness. The plan is to taser them before they could make a move. And trust me, Daniel knows what he's doing; he'll be armed."

"And Faith?" asked Joyce.

"She's been told the plan, and she agreed" said the Major, "she will play the part of the bait, and I'll be the nurse on duty who….."

"Xander!" hissed Anya who stamped on his foot, interrupting what the Major was saying, "you're drooling."

The Major then raised an eyebrow at Xander while he apologized as he wiped some drool of his face. The dark haired young man apologized profusely to the blonde as he pushed the thought of Major Carter in a nurses uniform out of his mind.

"Yeea" said the Major as she turned back to Tara and Buffy who were trying not to smile, "anyway, that's the plan… the rest of you will be kept in another room in this wing. We're afraid that once they come after the fake M.P. Daniel, and Faith.. then they may come after you."

"Alright" said Joyce as she nodded her head.

"Major" said Buffy as she approached the blonde, "I'd like to help."

**Sunnydale Memorial, 2030 hours.**

After receiving a particularly angry phone call from the Sunnydale General Hospital administrator that the team had failed in their mission, the leader insisted that everyone was dead.. that there were no witnesses. However, the leader of the second team was stunned to learn that one of the M.P's had survived and that he was being taken under guard to the Sunnydale Memorial hospital's secure wing.

Lee had told Brent Rogers, the leader of the second team, few minutes earlier that the surviving M.P. would have seen the faces of the second team and that they were under his order to make sure that he doesn't talk.

"Sir" said Rogers into his phone, "we can't get I.D's for that hospital at the last…."

"Get back here" said Lee angrily, "I'll have two I.D's ready for you and one more person. I've already let Sunnydale Memorial know that I'm sending my top doctors to help the M.P who's been injured, after all.. it is the least I could do considering that the incident happened outside my hospital."

"Yes, sir" said the leader.

"Faith Lehane has been placed into the same wing" said Lee, "make sure you take care of her as well, and then get out of Sunnydale. A private jet will land at the airport in four hours to take you and your team to London. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir" he said as he smiled into the phone before putting it down.

Now, as Rogers and his teammate exited the elevator, they turned to the left and walked down the brightly lit hallway. Rogers and his teammate had spent some time in Sunnydale General while the administrator got them hospital I.D's before heading towards Sunnydale memorial.

As they hung their I.D's on the lapel of their white doctors' coats, the two men found themselves walking towards a pair of double doors that was guarded by a dark skinned man in uniform wearing a cap, and another man who was also in uniform as they looked at each other before approaching the two doctors.

"Sorry, doc" said the disguised Colonel O'Neill, "this is a secured wing; I'll need your I.D to verify that you're on the list of visitors."

"Here you go" said Rogers as he and the other man handed the Colonel their I.D. before he turned back to the disguised Teal'c and nodded his head. The two disguised doctors then watched the disguised Colonel O'Neill press some buttons on a keypad before the doors opened.

"Thanks" said Rogers as both Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c nodded at the two 'doctors' who walked into the wing, with the doors closing behind them.

"Kinda feel sorry for them" said Colonel O'Neill as he pressed the button on his radio twice, before he called for the M.P's who were watching over the bodies of their four deceased brothers-in-arms lying in the morgue to get ready. He then looked up at Teal'c after the M.P's told the Colonel that they were ready and shrugged, "these two are so screwed."

"Indeed" replied Teal'c as he and the disguised Colonel glanced through the glass windows in the door as they watched a blonde in a nurses uniform walking towards the two 'doctors'.

Once the two 'doctors' had walked in, Major Carter heard the two clicks on her radio from the Colonel standing outside before she tapped on Daniel's shoulder as he lay on the bed under a blanket. Handing the archaeologist the radio and a Zat, one of four that the team had brought with them to Sunnydale as an emergency measure, the Major smiled at him before walking towards the door of the room, and turning off the lights.

Walking into the hallway outside, she saw the two people and walked towards them.

"Doctors" said the disguised Major, "I take it you're the ones form Sunnydale General?"

"Yes" said Rogers as he had his hand in the deep pockets of his white coat. He had his one and on the handgun in one pocket, and a silencer in the other one. He glanced at his colleague and noticed the her was doing the same thing as well, "we were sent by Administrator Lee to help in the treatment of one of the M.P's who was injured in an accident."

"Right" said the disguised Major, "well, he's asleep.. but you can see him. I just ask that you don't disturb the patient in the next room. She's been through a lot and… well, she's asleep right now."

"We'll be quiet" said Rogers, "we'll be in and out before you know it."

"Alright" said the Major as she nodded her head, "please call me if you need anything."

"Certainly" smiled Rogers as he and the other man watched the disguised Major walk to the nurses' station. He then nodded the other man to Daniel's room, while he made sure that the disguised Major had her back to him as he took out his handgun from the pocket and silently opened the door to Faith's room. Once inside, he expertly screwed the silencer into the barrel of the sidearm in the darkness before he could make out where Faith's bed was. Smiling, Rogers then walked towards Faith's bed as he lifted the silenced weapon and pointed it right at her forehead.

"This is for the Council" hissed Rogers in anger when suddenly the lights in the room turned on and he felt a hand grab the wrist that hand the weapon. He yelped in pain as he looked up from the hand that grabbed his wrist and saw Faith looking back at him in anger before her hand squeezed down hard, as he felt the bones in his wrist breaking and the weapon fell onto the bed.

After Faith let go of his hand and slowly sat up on the bed, he felt someone tapping on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw a short blonde girl who was smiling back at him.

"You know, Sparky" said Buffy as she grabbed him by the collar, "for a Special Operations Team… you're pretty stupid in making sure that you weren't alone."

The blonde Slayer than turned around and flung Rogers towards the door that was rocked off its hinges as Rogers hit the floor out in the hallway. Then as he landed on the floor, he saw a bright blue light in the other room that had the supposed injured M.P before he heard footsteps coming towards him. Looking up he looked into deep blue eyes as a smiling Major Carter looked down at him, pointed a Zat, and shot him once.

TBC.

 


	27. Chapter 27

**General Hammond's Office, SGC, 1935 hours.**

The General was in his office getting some paperwork done when he received a call that every officer dreaded to hear; that not only were the prisoners from the Special Operations team dead, assassinated by what Colonel O'Neill thought was a second team… the four M.P's that guarded them were killed as well. His hands were rolled tightly into fists on his table as he continued talking to the Colonel as he heard sirens in the background which seemed to be going farther and farther away.

In the meantime, he listened to the idea that Colonel O'Neill had to trap the second team… and he ordered that everything be done to secure the second team and plug the leak in Sunnydale General. Putting the phone back down, the General sat back on his chair before reaching for his phone again. He called the President and told him what happened and that Colonel O'Neill and his team would be doing everything in their power to get the people responsible. The President, for his part, said that he would call the Prime Minister and talk to him about the situation with the Council. But the both of them knew that capturing the people responsible were paramount since they needed proof that the Council were behind it all.

After he disconnected the call with the President, the General called the Army base in Sunnydale and told the commander of the base what had happened. The both of them had talked earlier and had hoped that by keeping everything concerning the transfer of the prisoners quiet, they would be able to shield the prisoners from harm. After the General had offered his condolences, the two of them agreed that a full scale retrieval of any new prisoners would have to be carried out. The Commander of the Army base offered the use of four more M.P's to help Colonel O'Neill and the other capture the second team. And once they were captured, a combined military and local law enforcement convoy would bring them back to the Army Base under protection where they would be transferred to Area Fifty One for questioning.

It would be sometime later, while he was finishing up a briefing with SG2 and SG5, that Walter had hurried up from the control room and told the General that he had a call from Colonel O'Neill. Hoping that the mission in Sunnydale was a success, he excused himself from the briefing before walking into his office and closing the door behind him. Picking up the phone, he sat on his chair and listened to Colonel O'Neill tell him that they had caught two of the second Special Operations Team members.

"Good work, Jack" said the General as he breathed a sigh of relief, "get them to talk… I want the others found. In the meantime, find the leak in Sunnydale General and bring him in for endangering Miss Lehane in her capacity as a National Security Asset, and for killing the M.P's and the prisoners. Putting the phone back down, he called the Army base in Sunnydale and coordinated with the commander on how many personnel and vehicles would be needed. The General told him that Colonel O'Neill was told to contact him directly once everyone was captured, and in the meantime he was to get ready his people.. and coordinate with the Sunnydale Police Department. After talking to the Commander, the General breathed another sigh of relief before heading back into the briefing room. Now he had to wait for another call from the Colonel about the capture of the rest of the team, and the leak.

**Sunnydale Memorial Hospital, 2050 hours.**

Willow walked out of the room that she, Giles and the others were sequestered in after he second team member was flung through the doors by Buffy, and them zatted by Major Carter. She then looked into Daniel's room as he removed the blanket he was wearing aside and sat on the bed while aiming his zat at the second man who was lying unconscious on the floor.

"Ray gun?" as Xander as he pointed at the Zat.

"That's the weapon you were telling me about?" said Willow excitedly as she rushed next to Colonel Carter while Tara and Joyce went to check on Faith who was sitting up and had her legs dangling from the bed, "the…. You called it Zat gun?"

"Yep" said the Major as she handed the weapon to Willow, "one shot to stun, two to kill and a third to make the problem go away."

"Go away as in?" asked Anya as she took a close look at the weapon in Willow's hand.

"Poof" said Colonel O'Neill as he put away his phone, "vanished, gone bye bye, kabloey…. You know.."

"It disintegrates them" said Major Carter as she noticed the Colonel taking a quick glance at her in the nurses uniform before he looked away. Smiling at the Colonel's sudden nervousness, Major Carter told Willow and the others that eventually they'll be trained in using the Zat's as well. But that would happen later, and it depends on whoever trains them. The Major then walked towards the Colonel and asked him for permission to change out of the uniform and into her regular clothes. She was laughing inward at the Colonel rubbing the back of his head nervously as he accepted the request before the Major turned around and walked into one of the rooms where she had kept her regular clothes. Closing the door behind her, the Major was giggling inside the room quietly.

In the meantime, Tara and Joyce were helping Faith stand up after Dr. Fraiser had come into the Secure Wing with the extra M.P's. She pointed at the man in the room where Daniel was and told them to put him on the bed, she then rushed over to the man lying down on the floor and looked at his bruised body.

Feeling along his body, Dr. Frasier found that he had a broken arm, some bruises, and a broken leg as well. As she continued to examine him, the doctor felt a bulge in his back pocket. Putting on some gloves from the nurses' station, the doctor put her hands inside the pocket and took out a cell phone before she handed it to Colonel O'Neill.

"What happened to him?" asked Dr. Fraiser before she asked Colonel O'Neill to use the phone at the nurses' station to call for some braces and nurses to take him to get an X-Ray.

"I kinda threw him into the door" said Buffy nervously as Dr. Fraiser looked behind Buffy and noticed the solid oak door that was taken off its hinges.

"Ok" said Dr. Fraiser surprised as she looked at the door, and then at Buffy, and then at the door again. She then shrugged her shoulders and went back to the man on the floor as nurses and doctors came into the secure wing after Colonel O'Neill cleared them with the M.P's who were standing guard outside. As the doctors put the man on the stretcher, and then picked him and placed him on a gurney… the Colonel told the M.P's to stay with the man at all times, while he told Daniel and Teal'c to tie up the other man and question him in the secure wing of the hospital once he wakes up. The Colonel then turned back and reminded the M.P's not to harm the one being taken to get his X-Ray's done, and that he was to be brought back to the secure wing where anything the doctors needed to bring him back to a condition for transport back to the Army base would be made available to them.

After the nurses had put the man's neck into a brace, the Colonel and the others looked on as the man was taken away by the doctors and the M.P's while he looked back down at the phone. It was just then that Major Carter walked out of the room where she changed into her regular clothes, and stood next to the Colonel as he looked at device.

"Sir?" asked the Major as he nodded to her to follow him to one corner while the others, including Willow and Buffy were in Faith's room, "everything alright?"

"I'm not good with this, Carter" said Colonel O'Neill as they reached a quiet corner of the wing and he handed the phone to the blonde woman, "think you could…?"

"Check the call logs?" asked the Major with a grin as she cycled through the call logs and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Carter?" asked the Colonel.

"Three numbers, sir" said the Major, "repeating numbers… one is an international number… could be England. But the others seem to be in Sunnydale. They all have the same area code."

"Call the most recent number" said the Colonel, "and put it on Speaker."

The Major dialled the last number as the phone of the other line kept on ringing when suddenly it was picked up by a familiar voice. The Colonel, upon hearing that voice, looked at the Major in surprise.

"Rogers" said Lee on the other line, "is that you? Is it done? Rogers?"

The Colonel then signalled Major Carter to cut off the line. He then, along with Major Carter, walked into the room where everyone was with Faith and told them to stay put… that he and Major Carter were going back to Sunnydale General for some unfinished business.

"You know, don't you?" said Faith as she looked at the Colonel, "you know who the leak is."

"Yeah" said Colonel O'Neill as the Major got on her phone and called the Sunnydale Police. She told them that they were to send six officers to the office of the Administrator for violations of national security until she, and Colonel O'Neill arrived.

At the same time, Colonel O'Neill was telling that that he knew that someone high up was the leak… but he had no idea it was the Administrator. That angered Giles because he said that the Administrator had come to him and talked about Faith's wellbeing. He offered to accompany the Colonel and Major Carter, who accepted. Even Buffy offered but she was told that there could be more out there, and they could be the targets.

"How about me?" asked Willow, "I'll go."

"Stay with the others, Red" said Colonel O'Neill, "trust me, you'll get your chance one day. Enjoy yourself while you can right now, be with your friends."

Willow nodded her head as Tara came up to stand next to her before Giles, Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter left the room. However, Major Carter stopped and turned around to tell Willow that they'll be right back.

It had taken less than fifteen minutes for the Colonel, Major Carter and Giles to rush to Sunnydale General where there were already police cars at the lobby. The three of them walked into the building and walked over to the Administrators office which was guarded by three police officers while another three were inside guarding Lee, making sure that he didn't do anything funny. After the Colonel and Major Carter showed the officers their I.D's, they told them that Giles was a civilian consultant with them and gave them General Hammond's number for their supervisor at the department to call. Once that was settled, the Colonel and the other walked in to see the administrator fuming on him chair as the three officer stood next to him, while the other one carried a bag with a weapon inside.

"What happened?" asked Major Carter as she pointed at the bag.

"He had this in his desk" said one of the officers, "he reached for it when we came in.. and with the prevalence of gangs and violence in Sunnydale… we took out our weapons and handcuffed him while checking out the desk."

"Thanks guys" said Colonel O'Neill as he nodded at the officers before the officers handed the bagged weapon to him. He then asked the officer to wait outside, while he questioned the administrator. He told them that once that was done, they were to escort them to Sunnydale Memorial where he would be kept in the secure wing until his transfer to a classified prison.

After the officers left the room, the Major closed the door behind them as Colonel O'Neill placed a chair in front of him and sat down.

"Do you know who I am?" asked Giles as he stood next to the Colonel before calmly grabbing a seat and sitting down.

"Rupert Giles" said the Lee, "the traitor to the Council, fired from his job as Watcher of Buffy Summers…. Unfit for duty. The fallen one. The Ripper."

"The Council has gone too far this time" said Giles as he ignored what the man was saying, "four members of the military were killed today, as well as the four members of the Special Operations team that tried to not only take out Faith, but Buffy's mother as well."

"I don't know what you mean" said Lee.

"You can't protect the Council" said Colonel O'Neill, "my superiors have already talked to the Prime Minister, your Council will be in big trouble for putting national security assets in danger, and for conducting missions in a foreign country, and for putting American citizens in danger. Now what matters is what will happen to you."

"Give us the names of the remaining members of the team" said Major Carter, "and we'll work something out."

"Again" said Lee smugly, "I don't know what you mean. The Council is here to protect the world… we don't assassinate people."

"You answered the phone, genius" said Colonel O'Neill as he took out Rogers's phone, "you asked if it was done."

"I asked him get me some food since he was going out" said Lee, "he was out doing something, and I told him to get me some food on the way back here, that's not wrong, is it?"

"Mr. Lee" said Colonel O'Neill as he leaned forward as Giles got up and placed a hand on the administrator's shoulder and squeezed hard, "if you don't tell us everything, like who else is involved… and who else has been leaking information…. Then, I will make you disappear. Don't get me wrong, you wont be dead… that would be easy for you… you'll be alive but living in the darkness. A deep, dark hole… no contact with the outside world… so, it's you choice."

"Talk" said the Major as she looked at the sweating Lee.

TBC.

 


	28. Chapter 28

**Sunnydale General Hospital, 2230 hours.**

Roslyn was in the lobby when she saw Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter walk out with the administrator in handcuffs before he was put into a black SUV. She saw that Rupert Giles, who was walking behind the man, get into the back seat after him, while Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter sat in the drivers and passengers side respectively. Once everyone was settled, Roslyn saw the SUV be driven off while being escorted by six police cars that had all of their lights and sirens on.

The woman was very sure that Lee had not seen her, but even so… he gave her orders in case something like this happened. She frowned and walked out of the lobby as the last police car left the hospital before she pulled out her phone from her purse. Dialling the first number on her call list, she placed the phone to her ear and listened as the phone on the other side kept on ringing.

"What the bloody hell is going on' thought Roslyn to herself as she furrowed her eyebrows before taking a look at the phone's screen. Disconnecting the call, she turned on her car before trying again. Her phone to her ear, she listened as it rang six times before she heard it being picked up.

"Mr. Travers" said Roslyn, "we have a problem."

"Sorry" said a woman's voice on the other line, "Mr. Travers was called to the Prime Minister's office."

"When will he be back?" asked Roslyn.

"I'm not sure" said the woman, "I just got back from an errand, I'm Rose… his secretary."

"Rose" said Roslyn, "tell Mr. Travers that Mr. Lee's been taken in for questioning."

"Umm…" said Rose on the other like as Roslyn heard her searching for something close by, "this is Miss. Graves?"

"Yes" said Roslyn, "now give him the message."

"Miss Graves, one moment please" said Rose before she put the phone on Travers desk and she ran to hers that was outside the head of the Council's office. Roselyn heard her footsteps run out before a door closed while she waited in the car outside the hospital. After some time, Roslyn could hear the door on the other line open again before Rose picked up the phone. The secretary told Roslyn that Travers had left a message in case the woman calls Travers in his office.

"Fine" said a frustrated Roslyn, "what's the message?"

"Leave the country" said Rose as she read from the paper, "do not wait for the team, leave the country. The plane has been already told to take you and the team to the Council's Moscow safe house. You are ordered to pick up the team and leave."

"Half the team is gone" said Roslyn, "and Lee's just been arrested."

"I just have this message with me" said Rose as she looked at the yellow piece of paper.

"Fine" said Roslyn, "I'll pick up the others and get the hell out of this bloody city."

**Council Safe house, Sunnydale, 2220 hours.**

On the way to the safe house where the other two members of the Special Operations team was being holed up in, Roslyn Graves noticed flashing lights and sirens in her rear view mirror as she was driving on the road to the nearby housing area. Not wanting to bring any attention to herself, she pulled up to the side of the road as the vehicles drove straight past her.

"Three police cars" said Roslin to herself as she mentally counted the number of cars, and then a van with the words SWAT drove past her as she looked on in shock as they took the same corner that she was about to take to go to the safe house, "damn it! That bastard must have talked."

Shaking her head, Roslin knew that it was only a matter of time before the remaining members talked. She knew that the Special Operations Team were trained to fight any sort of mind control, or truth serum for hours on end until rescue could come along… but this was too fast.

"Something" said Roslin to herself as she watched the flashing lights make another turn in the distance before they disappeared, "or someone must have made them talk. This is a huge problem."

Unsure about what do to, she made the decision to keep on driving; just to ensure that the police were going where she thought they would be going. Slowly driving around the corner, Roslyn turned off her headlights as she made another turn and drove along the walkways outside a row of houses. She drove way under the speed limit until she could see the flashing lights, and smoke pouring out from the inside of the safe house. Even from this distance, she heard a bang and more smoke coming out of the hose as she watched three men run out coughing straight into the arms of the waiting police and SWAT teams outside.

"Bollocks" said Roslyn as she frowned after she had stopped the car, "they have the two men, and the bloody doctor who tried to take out the rogue Slayer."

Shaking her head, Roslyn then put the car into reverse and backed up the way she came, hopeful that no one had seen her. Once she thought she was out of sight, Roslyn reversed the car into someone else's driveway before turning on her headlights and driving out of the housing area. As she made her way out of the housing area, she made another turn into a corner and just drove onto the main street. With the Sunnydale General Hospital in the distance, Roslyn turned left and drove as fast as she could back to her apartment to get her passport and a to-go back that she, as a member of the Watchers Council, always had to keep in case they were called somewhere at the last minute. She then exited her apartment for the last time before driving all the way to the airport.

Once she reached the airport, Roslyn parked her car before rushing into the terminal that catered to private flights out that were going out of the city. Making her way through, Roslyn was taken to the hanger where she saw the Gulfstream Jet waiting for her and the other members of the team. Running up the short stairs into the plane, she put her bag in the cabin before heading to the cockpit. The two pilots looked at her when she peeked into the space; she asked them if the Council notified them about the change in plans.

"Yes, ma'am" said one of the pilots, "we were told to wait for you, and the team."

"They are not coming" said Roslyn as the two pilots looked at each other before looking at Roslin again, "they've been taken in, and may have been compromised. Take off now."

"Yes, ma'am" said one of the pilots before he told Roslyn to take a seat at the back.

Taking her seat, Roslyn tied the seatbelt around her before she looked out the window. It was a few minutes late that the plane started to taxi down to the runway. Before Roslyn knew it, she was already in the air and rising into the sky. All she could do was sigh as she looked out the window; she knew she had to try and reach Council HQ once she reached Cuba, and then a plan could be made on the next course of action.

**Sunnydale Memorial Hospital, 2235 hours.**

Xander was talking to Joyce, Buffy, and Faith when he noticed Willow, who had her back to him, standing next to Tara while they were chatting with Teal'c. The young man couldn't believe it when Willow introduced him to the bald Jaffa earlier that day, and he was still in a little bit of shock that he was shaking his hands with a real life alien. It was when they had arrived in the secure wing that Teal'c had felt comfortable to acceding to the Scoobies requests to show them his symbiote. It was soon after the capture of the two Special Operations members that Teal'c had asked everyone to follow him to one of the rooms. Once inside, and with Daniel standing next to him while Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter had gone to the other hospital to capture the administrator, Teal'c pulled up his shirt to his pouch as the Goa'uld larvae came out and screamed as everyone jumped back.

"Holy snakeskin" said Xander as he shuddered as the Goa'uld went back into the pouch, "you've carried that since you were young?"

"Indeed" said Teal'c, "it is from the moment of what you call puberty."

"Bu.. but it gives you a long life?" asked Tara.

"It does" said Teal'c as he nodded his head, "however not as long as Anya Jenkins."

During their introductions earlier that day, Willow had introduced Anya to the Jaffa. She had let him know that the blonde was a thousand year old ex-vengeance demon. He went to explain that the larvae would mature into a full Goa'uld at which time it would have to be killed.

"But wont that kill you?" Anya asked as Buffy furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yes" said Teal'c.

"But why?" asked Buffy.

"I will not allow the Goa'uld take another host" said Teal'c, "doing so will be tantamount to making that individual a slave to this symbiote."

"The problem is finding a new larva" said Daniel as Teal'c nodded his head. As they continued talking, Teal'c and Daniel told the Scoobies about the history of the Jaffa, and their current struggle for freedom from the Goa'uld.

Now, as Xander looked at Willow, he couldn't help but smile and imagine the young redhead in an uniform. Telling Buffy and Joyce that he'll be back. The young man walked past Anya who was talking excitedly to Daniel, who wanted to ask the ex-demon about what she had seen during her thousand years of being alive, before he walked up behind Willow and tapped the side of her left shoulder.

"Xander Harris" said Teal'c as Willow turned around and gave a nervous smile to her best fired.

"Sorry" said Xander as he looked at Teal'c and Tara, "but could I borrow Willow for a little bit?"

Teal'c and Tara nodded their heads before Xander reached out with his hand and held onto to Willow's arm gently. Smiling at Xander, Willow walked out with the dark haired young man into the hallway outside. The redhead could see that one of the doors was under guard since the Special Operations member was still out thanks to the Zat blast from earlier, while the other one had to get his hand into a cast.

Walking hand in hand to the other side of the room where there were four beds along the walls separated by curtains. Willow sat on one of the beds as Xander hopped up and sat next to her. The both of them, sat quietly until Xander leaned in and nudged her with his shoulder.

"I'm sorry" said Xander as Willow turned and looked at him in surprise. Smiling at the redhead, Xander apologized for not apologizing earlier about his not wanting Willow to leave for the Air Force. He told her that he was afraid that his new family was breaking up since she was leaving, and later so would Buffy. Xander told Willow, who lay her head on his shoulder, that he was afraid to be all alone in Sunnydale as his friends were leaving.

"But you're not alone" said Willow with a small smile, "you have Mrs. Summers, Anya, Giles and Faith."

"Kinda worried about Faith" said Xander with a frown.

"Give her a chance" said Willow as she looked down at the floor, "I remember how I acted towards her, and if my alternate didn't show me what she knew….. then I would have continued to act the same way. Now I know that she has Mrs. Summers and Giles to take care of her, and that's what she needs most of all. She needs friends, Xander."

"I was just thinking" said Xander with a grin, "I think you'd look good in an uniform."

"Hey" said Willow as she playfully slapped Xander's arm, "you had your shot, now those thoughts are only for Tara."

Willow stuck her tongue out at Xander as the latter just grinned before hugging the redhead. It was then that Colonel O'Neill, Giles and Major Carter walked in though the security doors smiling at Willow. The Major motioned her and Xander to follow them into Faith's room where everyone was speaking to each other.

"Ladies and gentlemen" said Colonel O'Neill after Willow and Xander had walked in, "we've got the administrator of Sunnydale General to talk. Well, Mr. Giles made him talk in a very effective way, anyway.. he gave the location of a safe house where the other two members of the team were hiding out. The police and a SWAT have also taken in a third man from that house."

The Colonel then looked at Faith and Tara and told them that he was probably the one who had tried to hurt them from earlier that day. Smiling at each other, Faith and Tara then looked at the Colonel and nodded their heads.

"So" said Buffy, "it's over?"

"According to Mr. Lee" said Major Carter, "yes, he said that this second team was the only one sent. And I don't think the Council will be sending another one now, or ever."

"The President has already talked to the Prime Minister" said Colonel O'Neill, "he knows what's at stake, and was promised a part to play in what we do. Last I heard, the PM called in Travers for a meeting. We won't know what happened until later.. but one of the deals is that the Council back off from controlling, or coming after Buffy or Faith."

"Basically, it's over" said Giles as Buffy sighed before she hopped off the bed.

"In that case" said Buffy as she looked at Faith, "I better go patrol."

"Vamps" said Faith nodding her head before she looked up at the wall clock, "they should be out by now."

"You going alone?" asked Colonel O'Neill as he looked at Buffy, and then at Giles who nodded his head while fidgeting with his glasses.

"She is quite capable of taking care of herself, Colonel" said Giles, "but given the current situation, even with the Special Operations team gone… perhaps it would be better for her to have some back-up?"

"You read my mind" said the Colonel before he turned to Teal'c, "T? Interested?"

"Indeed, O'Neill" said Teal'c as the main security door opened and Dr. Frasier walked into the hallway with other nurses as she pointed to the room that held the man who was Zatted earlier. She told them to leave the man who was thrown through the door under guard, and told the nurses to watch him in case he said her was in pain. After giving additional orders, she walked into Faith's room where she told everyone that the man was injured, but he would survive.

"Cool" said Buffy as she kissed Joyce's cheeks before walking up to Teal'c, "you sure about this?"

"I am" nodded Teal'c before Buffy raised an eyebrow and shrugged her shoulders. Buffy told everyone that she'll do a quick patrol before she heads back to the hospital.

"Maybe it would be better if you all went home" said Dr. Fraiser, "Faith needs her rest, and this wing is already secure. I've ordered the guards not to let anyone in, unless I give them authorization."

"You'll be staying here, Doc?" asked Colonel O'Neill as Dr. Fraiser nodded her head. Joyce then suggested that she stay as well in Faith's room before turning to the smiling brunette behind her as she nodded her head.

"Alrighty" said Colonel O'Neill as she turned to Major Carter and Daniel, "I guess we are going back to the hotel."

"You already have the rooms?" asked Joyce.

"No" said Major Carter, "we'll get a…."

"The three of you can stay at my home" said Joyce as she fished for her keys before handing them to Xander, "Xander and Anya can show you where it is."

"Ummm" said Willow as she walked forward, "my house is empty. MY parents are in Rome.. so…. It's a big house.."

"I… I… have to go back to the dorm" said Tara nervously, "I.. I don't have my.. well…. I mean everything is at my room."

"How about this" said Dr. Fraiser, "the girls go to Willow's house, while the boys stay in Mrs. Summers home."

"That sounds good" said Joyce, "I've got some food in the fridge, some devil's food cake and…."

"In that case" said Dr. Fraiser will a smirk on her face, "switch it around, the boys go to Willow's house, and the girls stay in MRs Summers' home."

"But… but…." Said Daniel as Colonel O'Neill looked on with his mouth open and the Major laughed.

"Dr. Fraiser?" asked a confused Joyce as she saw Dr. Fraiser taking the keys from Xander and handing them to Tara.

"Mrs. Summers" said Dr. Fraiser as she tried to not enjoy herself too much, "I'm afraid that Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson has been put on a diet. With the temptation of your food, I'm afraid that….."

"Doc! Janet!" said the Colonel and Daniel together as Faith tried her best not to laugh.

"Sorry" said Dr. Fraiser as she looked at the two of them as Willow handed her house keys to Xander who agreed to take them to the redhead's house.

"Come on guys" said Xander to a shocked Air Force officer and archaeologist, "we'll order some pizza… that has a lot of cheese."

"Xander" said Anya, "you should be responsible and order the vegetarian one… no extra cheese. You need to go on a diet too."

"Anya!" said the Colonel, Daniel and Xander together while they were looking at Anya who was smiling while Faith, Willow and Tara tried their best not to laugh..

"Sam" said Daniel as he turned around and looked at his friend with pleading eyes, "help?"

"Sorry" said Major Carter, "Dr. Fraiser's the boss."

"Carter" said Colonel O'Neill as he looked at the Major who shrugged her shoulders, "but… I… the cake…."

"I'll describe the cake to you sir" said the Major as she smiled before turning around and headed out the door with Willow and Tara, with Anya following close behind. The three of them stopped when Faith called for them; turning around, Faith asked Willow to save her a slice since the hospital food sucked. Nodded her head at the brunette, she and the others walked away leaving Colonel O'Neill, Daniel and Xander in the room with their mouths hanging open.

TBC.

 


	29. Chapter 29

**East Cemetery, Sunnydale, 2300 hours.**

Buffy and Teal'c were walking through the cemetery together, with the Slayer taking out the stake that she kept hidden in her black jacket and Teal'c walking next to her with his hands behind his back. As they were both walking together past the gravestones, Buffy kept on glancing to her right towards his forehead symbol that was hidden under his hat and towards the Zat that he kept in the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

"Is there something you wish to ask me, Buffy Summers" said Teal'c, noticing Buffy's glances towards him, as Buffy suddenly looked away from the Jaffa.

"Umm…. So….." said Buffy nervously, "so…. Aliens.. huh?"

"Indeed" said Teal'c as he nodded towards Buffy, "we have encountered humans on many different worlds, many of whom seek freedom from the Goa'uld."

"I know we haven't talked much since the meeting in Colorado" said Buffy, "and I mean this all happened only a few days later so there's not been much of a chance to just chit chat and…. I mean…"

"You wish to ask me about my past" said Teal'c as Buffy looked at him surprised. Turning to the blonde Slayer, Teal'c told him that Willow acted the same way she was acting. That she had many questions to ask and that they spent hours talking about his planet, his family and everything else that mattered.

Buffy looked down and smiled when she thought about all the rapid fire questions her best friends ask the Jaffa she was walking next to.

"A lot of questions huh?" said Buffy smiling as she looked at Teal'c.

"Indeed" replied Teal'c.

"So" said Buffy, "I know you told us about Chulak and why you joined the SGC, but can you tell me about your family?"

"I have a wife and son on Chulak" said Teal'c, "however, they were treated as outcasts after I defected to the cause of the Tau'ri. Last year my son, Ry'ac, was brainwashed by Apophis so that he would be loyal to him. However, with the help of SG1, I was able to get my wife and son away from the planet I had been born and sent them to live with our allies in the Land of Light."

"Land of Light?" asked Buffy.

"Yes" said Teal'c, "you will read about it once you have joined the SGC."

"I see" said Buffy as she glanced at the symbiote pouch, "does.. does your symbiote have a name? I mean can you talk to it or, something?"

"O'Neill calls the larvae I carry, Junior" said Teal'c as Buffy gave a small smile, "it not only provides me with my immune system; it also provides me with strength, longevity, and healing. I have to perform what is known as kel'no'reem every night so that my symbiote can heal my body, without it… I will die."

"I see" said Buffy when she came to a realization, "you said increased longevity, right?"

She looked on as Teal'c nodded his head.

"So how old are you?" asked Buffy as she looked at Teal'c, "I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"I am about a hundred years old" said Teal'c as Buffy looked on in surprise.

"Neat" said the Slayer with a smile when the both of them stopped when they heard a sound in the distance. Looking around, Buffy and Teal'c could only see shadows thanks to the trees whose braches were swaying because of the slight breeze. The both of them started walking again quietly until they heard the same sound again, this time from behind them.

"Are they vampires?" asked Teal'c as he scanned his surroundings while Buffy had her stake up and looking around.

"Maybe" said Buffy when they heard another sound coming from a crypt close by. Buffy nodded towards the crypt before the both of them made their way to the structure. Getting close, Buffy and Teal'c saw that the door was locked but they could hear the sounds of someone, or something making noises from the inside. Looking at each other, Teal'c nodded at the Slayer who then kicked the locked door open before walking into a nest of eight vampires.

"Hey guys" said Buffy as she gave the vampires a small wave as Teal'c walked in behind her, "I'm here from the City to serve you an eviction notice…. You know… this placed isn't really zoned for…."

Immediately the vampires 'vamped-out' mid-sentence before coming towards Buffy and Teal'c all at once.

"You" said Buffy as she ducked before stabbing one of the vampires with her stake, "never let me finish."

Buffy then jumped back as another vampire lunged at her, while she glanced at Teal'c who was surrounded by four of the vampires as they growled at him. However, that distraction prevented her from seeing the fast that was coming towards her face which knocked her back on the floor. Getting up, she saw two of the vampires holding back Teal'c while another one jumped onto his back. He was trying to shake them off, but Buffy knew that he wasn't using all of his strength.

'He probably thinks they're still human' thought Buffy to herself went she saw a movement in the corner of her eyes.

"Te…." Said Buffy as she turned around to block the vampire who jumped at her from the darkness, before she kicked him in the chest which flung him against the wall. She then rushed him before piercing his heart with her stake; turning him to dust instantly. She then turned around and looked on in shock as the vampire behind him bit into his neck.

"Teal'c!" continued Buffy as she ran towards him but was intercepted by another vampire, "listen to me… they aren't human… you need to…."

She felt herself being spun around by the vampire that intercepted her as she hit one of the walls. Turning around, she saw the vampire that bit into Teal'c immediately jump off him and spit out the blood in disgust.

"What the hell?!" shouted the vampire as the vampire that was coming towards Buffy stopped, while the Slayers herself looked in surprise at what just happened, "what the hell are you? Your blood is disgusting."

"Something's wrong" said the vampire who had his back to Buffy while sniffing the air, "I'm getting two scents off from him… and…"

"Yea" said Buffy as she staked the vampire from behind, "he's unique."

"Indeed" said Teal'c as he grabbed the vampire who had bit him and looked at his demonic visage, "so this is a real vampire. O'Neill has shown me 'Dracula' it did not look like this."

"Yeah" said Buffy as she rushed another vampire while Teal'c easily threw the one that bit him against the wall before he blocked the other vampire. IN the meantime, Buffy staked another one while telling Teal'c that certain creative freedoms were taken with the looks of movie vampires, "and they world at large doesn't really know what vampires look like anyway… so… there."

"I see" said Teal'c as he grabbed the vampire that was rushing towards him before he grabbed the demon's arm and flung him against a wall. He then took out his Zat and blasted the remaining three with one charge.

"You alright?" asked Buffy as she looked at the bite mark on his neck, "you're still bleeding."

"My symbiote will heal me" said Teal'c as he looked at Buffy and bowed his head slightly. He then turned back to the vampires and asked Buffy if they could be saved.

"No" said Buffy as she staked the remaining vampires, "they're possessed by a demon, that pushed out their souls, that's out for blood. The only one I know who can be an ally is in Los Angeles, he was cursed with his soul. Well, he's there doing good work. There is another one that Giles' has been holding prisoner. The Initiative people did something to him where he can't harm human beings… but those two are the only ones I know who won't harm humans anyway."

"I see" said Teal'c as he looked around at the empty room that had piles of dust in some places, the only hint that this crypt was occupied by Vampires at one point in time, "perhaps they could be asked to assist Faith Lehane when she finally comes into her own."

"Yeah" said Buffy softly before she looked up at Teal'c, "am I doing the right thing?"

"I cannot answer that question for you" said Teal'c as the both of them walked out of the crypt, "however, if you are worried about Faith Lehane taking over your duties…"

"I still am" said Buffy softly as they walked through the graveyard, "I know Willow… I mean my Willow said that the other Willow show her things about but… I mean I don't know."

"It is natural to be unsure" said Teal'c calmly as his bleeding stopped and the puncture marks heals over, "and while I have only known Captain Rosenberg for a short while… I do believe her when she says Faith Lehane can be an asset. I have spoken to the alternate Faith Lehane as well, and I believe that the Faith Lehane here would be similar to the other… or even better, once she has been given the proper environment to grow and flourish. As will you. You and Willow Rosenberg will make fine additions to the SGC, that much is something that I can be certain of."

"Thanks" said Buffy softly as they turned back and headed to the city, and home.

**Stevenson Hall, U.C. Sunnydale , that same time.**

Major Carter had stopped by the U.C. Sunnydale Campus while she was driving Joyce's jeep. The older woman had given her the keys to the vehicles just before they left the hospital building. Tara told the Major that she had an early morning class to go to in the morning, and that after that was completed.. she'll meet everyone back at the hospital.

"Are you sure about this, Tara?" asked the Major as Tara got out of the passenger seat, "I could wait for you if you'd like, and Mrs. Summers did say that her house is quite big."

"I.. I'm sure" said Tara as she smiled at the Major while trying her best not to glanced at Willow.

"To tell you the truth, Colonel O'Neill doesn't want any of us to remain alone" said Major Carter, "I know the danger's passed but still… at least while we're here, he'd like for us to remain together. But it's your choice, if you want I can contact campus security and have them keep watch around Stevenson."

"I.. I see" said Tara as she looked back up at her darkened window before looking at the Major again.

"And if you decide to stay at Mrs. Summers' house, I'm usually up early" said Major Carter smiling at Tara, "I can give you a ride to class; and then after you're done we can take the trip to the hospital together."

"O.. Ok" said Tara nodding her head as she looked at Willow and Anya who were in the back seat, "I..I guess I'll do that then."

"Come on, then" said Major Carter who turned off the engine before she took off her seatbelt and opened the driver side door, "we'll all go together."

"Ummm.. Major?" said Tara nervously, "would it be alright if I bring just Willow with me? I mean… my room's in such a mess right now… and Willow and Buffy were the only ones to see that mess that I'm embarrassed to let others se the mess…. I mean.. I really both wanna show people the mess I make… I mean…"

"We'll be alright" said Willow as she gave a pleading look towards the Major.

"Yes" said Anya as she nodded her head excitedly while going to Tara's defence, "her room is really messy… you have panties and bra's and…."

"Anya!" said Willow and Tara, who was extremely horrified, together as they saw the ex-vengeance demon smile while the Major's face turned red.

"It's true" said Anya as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright" said the Major as she shook her head before she looked at Tara, "how long would you need?"

"Fifteen minutes?" said Tara as the Major raised her eyebrows, "it's really a mess…. And…"

"It really is" said Willow, "Bufy and I have been there, and we sometimes have to help her find stuff….. you know… because of the mess."

"Alright" said Major Carter as she closed the driver side door, "but if your not back in fifteen minutes… then I'm coming to get the both of you."

"Yes, ma'am" smiled Willow as she and Tara ran up the stairs leading up to the entrance of Stevenson Hall. After they ran through the door's, Tara and Willow didn't wait for the elevator… instead they ran up the stairs and onto Tara's floor. Looking behind them to make sure they weren't followed, Tara and Willow held each other's hands and rushed towards the blonde witch's door. Tara's hands shook as she tried to put the card into the scanner to unlock the door while Willow could only smile. After a few tries, Willow grabbed the card and slid it in and out off the scanner. The door finally unlocked before Tara turned the knob and turned on the switch closed to the inside entrance that illuminated the absolutely spotless room.

Closing the door behind her, Willow grinned as Tara turned around and grabbed both sides of Willow's face before going in for a kiss.

"Messy, huh?" said Willow as she looked around the clean room before she pushed Tara against a wall and kissed her.

"Yeah" breathed in Tara as the redhead attacked her neck, "it's really, really dirty."

"Uh huh" said Willow as this time she hopped onto Tara's desk while the blonde put her hands under Willow's shirt and brushed her fingers along her bare back.

"I'm sorry" said Tara as she caressed Willow's cheek with one hand while rubbing her back with the other, "I knew that we couldn't… you know… at Buffy's house since the Major was there… and I figured it would be better if I stayed in the dorm. If I was in the house with you then… well, you'd be getting into a lot of trouble… you know?"

"I'm sorry" said Willow who gave a little yelp as Tara bit her shoulder before looking confused at the redhead. Willow gave a small smile at the confused look on Tara's face as the redhead told her that she was sorry she had to hide their relationship from Colonel O'Neill and the others. That she'd tell them one day when all of them were much closer than they are right now. However, it was the redhead's turn to be surprised when Tara told her that Daniel and Teal'c already guessed that they were in a relationship.

"But" said Tara as she giggled at the surprised look on Willow's face, "don't worry, Daniel said that they won't tell anyone."

"Phew" said Willow as she gave Tara another kiss on her lips.

"How long do we have?" asked Tara as she ran her hands through Willow's hair.

"Another ten minutes" said Willow who looked at her wristwatch before they heard a faint buzzing sound.

"Ok" said Tara who was still holding on to Willow as they looked around the room, "do you hear…."

Suddenly, the both of them found themselves awash in a white light when their surroundings suddenly changed from Tara's room, to a greyish coloured room with a large window on one side.

"Willow" said Tara as she let go of the redhead while the both of them walked cautiously towards the window, "Is that…..?"

"Yea" said a shocked Willow when she looked at the view of Earth before the both of them looked around at their surroundings, "I think we're on a ship…. "

"Yea" said Tara softly when she saw movement from the corner of her eyes. Turning towards the area of the movement, she kept on nudging Willow's arm while pointing at a grey alien that walked out from behind a console at the far corner of the room.

"Ummmm…. Ummmm…. Ummmmm.." said Willow as she looked at Tara, and then at the grey alien who looked just like the Roswell Grey's that the redhead used to read books about when she was younger, "hi?"

"Hello, I am Thor. Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet."

"Oh" said Tara and Willow together just before the both of them fainted on the floor of Thor's ship.

TBC.

 


	30. Chapter 30

**The Rosenberg Residence, 2315 hours.**

It had been nearly ten minutes since Colonel O'Neill, Xander and Daniel had arrived at Willow's home in Sunnydale. They had dropped off Giles at his own apartment depute the Colonel telling him that they should stay together for the time being. However, the Colonel looked on confused when the Watcher told him that he had a guest in his home who needed to be carefully watched. When pressed for more details, Giles simply told the Colonel that he'll explain everything soon and not to worry; he knew how to take care of himself. Now, as they walked into the living room after Xander opened the door, the Colonel and Daniel looked around the house and whistled. Xander told them to make themselves comfortable while he went to call for some pizza.

"Pepperoni" said the Colonel as Daniel and Xander looked at the man who shrugged, "hey, the doc's not here. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. So come on."

"Yea" said Daniel nodding his head in agreement before looking at Xander, "I don't know about you but I'm ok with that."

"Cool" said Xander as he dialled the number for the pizza, "I'll get two large then."

"Sweet" said the Colonel as Xander walked into the kitchen before the Colonel followed Daniel further into the living room.

He saw Daniel standing in front of a book shelf as he looked at the books that were all immaculately placed and arranged alphabetically. Reaching for one book, Daniel took it out of its place and started to skim through the book before looking at the cover.

"Your Child and Independence" said Daniel reading the title before he handed the book to the Colonel who simply looked at the cover and then put it down on a table while Daniel looked at some of the other books. While Daniel was looking at the books, the Colonel turned and looked at the pictures that were on the mantle piece and on some of the other shelves in the living room. He picked up a few pictures and looked at them; one was of Willow and Xander when they were younger. It was during Halloween since Willow was wearing a witch costume and Xander was wearing a pirate's outfit complete with a stuffed parrot and eye patch. The Colonel called out to Daniel who walked over to him and looked at the picture of the both of them in costume before he looked up at the other pictures while smiling. That smile slowly disappeared when he came to a realization that most of the pictures were of Willow, Xander and a woman neither of them had met. Looking around, Daniel told him that there weren't many pictures of Willow with her parents.

"Willow's parents have always been busy" said Xander softly as he walked out of the kitchen before telling them that the pizza should be arriving in thirty minutes, "usually she's be left with her nanny, but after the nanny was let go… she lived by herself."

"What?" said a surprised Daniel and Colonel O'Neill as they looked at each other while Xander reached for the picture they were holding.

"This I remember clearly" said Xander as he looked at the picture of Willow and Xander holding on to each other while in costume, "it was when we were eight years old… obviously it was Halloween…. I borrowed my mom's camera so that we could take pictures and, well, so that Willow could have some nice memories.. you know. This was taken by a female police officer who hung back as if she was watching over all the children. She saw me taking a picture of Willow, and then she took a picture of me before she approached us and asked if we wanted a picture taken together. We said yes, and well… here it is."

"Her parents weren't here?" asked Daniel as the Colonel frowned.

"Not as often as she'd like" said Xander as he looked at the picture and sat down on the couch, "she was almost always alone.. you know. Her parents…. Well, her mother believed that if she was left alone then Willow would learn how to be independent. They went to conferences and conducted lectures a lot, leaving her alone with her nanny…. And then when she was about eleven or twelve, they let her stay by herself."

"These are the parents?" asked the Colonel as he grabbed a picture and looked at Willow laughing as a man and a woman in the back smiled.

"Yeah" said Xander as he placed the Halloween picture on the couch and grabbed the other picture that the Colonel handed to him, "this was during a working trip. The nanny couldn't make it so they had no choice but to take Willow along. Her first, and only, overseas trip with her parents."

Daniel had his hands rolled into fists as he looked at the picture of the laughing redhead, before looking at the angry expression on the Colonel. Daniel instantly didn't like the Rosenberg's due to his own experience over being in the foster system when he was younger after the death of his parents, and he knew that the Colonel felt the same way. The both of them couldn't imagine why two parents would be so neglectful towards their only child, it felt as if they just wanted to have Willow just for the sake of having children.

Xander noticed the angry looks on the two people in front of him and told them that even though Willow's parents weren't around a lot, they still did everything to make sure that Willow was well taken care off. They made sure she was fed, and that she had enough money for anything that could arise when they were not in Sunnydale.

"You still don't ignore your own child like that" said Daniel as he put his hands into his pocket.

"Sheila's more hands off than Ira" said Xander as he looked up at the two of them, "at least Ira calls Willow once a week. But when Sheila does come into town, they try to hang… I guess that would be the term. Don't get me know, Willow loves her parents… but them not being here for birthdays… or taking her out on trips… she's my best friend and I know that it gets to her, even though she doesn't say it out loud."

"You were there for her" said Colonel O'Neill as Xander nodded his head.

"Whenever she'll feel alone" said Xander, "she'll come over to my house and we'll watch TV together. Then I'd bring her back home…. My house isn't the exact best place for sleep-overs."

"I see" said Colonel O'Neill as he noticed the change in Xander's expression when suddenly he heard a buzzing sound.

"Ummmm…. Do you hear that?" said Xander looking up as he looked around when there was a sudden flash of light that enveloped Colonel O'Neill before he vanished, leaved a surprised Xander who was simply pointing into empty air where the Colonel once stood and looked at an equally surprised Daniel.

"Ummmm… Ummmmmm… Umm..." said Xander as he got up, "that… that…."

"Teleportation beam" said Daniel as he recognized the process from the time the Asgard had helped the SGC induct Earth into the Protected Planet's Treaty. He then got out his phone and called Major Carter who was still waiting outside Stevenson hall to tell her what happened. Putting the phone down, Daniel than smiled at Xander who was still looking in shock at the archaeologist.

"Tel.. teleportation?" said Xander, "as in Star Trek? That teleportation? Seriously?"

"Yep" said Daniel nodding his head as he took out his cell phone and dialled a number before looking up at Xander, "but don't worry, this sort of thing happens to Jack all the time."

"Great" said Xander with his eyes still wide open as he rushed out of the house and looked up at the sky, "that's good to know."

**The Beliskner, orbit over Earth, 2320 hours.**

When the Colonel saw the white flash of light envelope him and the scenery change to the view of the Earth from space, he knew exactly where he was and who beamed him up.

"Thor" said the Colonel as he turned around and looked on in shock at the two young women who were lying on the floor while a grey alien was looking down at them, and then looking up at the Colonel.

"O'Neill" said Thor, "welcome onboard."

"Thor" said the Colonel as he rushed towards the two young women and knelt down, "what happened?"

"My apologies" said Thor as he blinked at the Colonel and then looked at Willow, "I had intended to only transport the one known as Willow Rosenberg. I believe the other female must have entered the beaming field at the last moment."

"Ok" said the Colonel as he looked at Thor, "she was with Carter, I need you to find her and don't bring her up here… no sense in scaring the one she's with. Is there some way for me to talk to her from here?"

"Yes" said Thor as he nodded his head before walking towards a console.

In the meantime, the Colonel lightly patted Willow's and Tara's cheeks, hoping to wake them up.

"Red, Tara" said the Colonel as he patted their cheeks, "hey… it's me. Come on, up and at 'em."

The Colonel smiled as he saw the both of them open their eyes slowly,

"Hey" said Colonel O'Neill as the two young women focused on him and smiled, "you alright?"

"Colonel?" said Willow as he helped the both of them up. Willow then turned and looked at Tara, who in turn was looking at their surroundings, "this.. this isn't some weird dream, is it?."

"O'Neill" said Thor from behind the console as the two young women looked at him with both eyes wide open, "I have found Major Carter's genetic signature, would you like for me to…"

"No" said Colonel O'Neill as he walked towards Thor, "send me to her will ya? I need to tell her that Red and Tara are here so that she can take her friend home."

"Very well" said Thor as he reached for a oval shaped, smooth crystal before walking out from behind the console and handing it to Colonel O'Neill, "press on this when you are ready to return."

"Thanks" said the Colonel before he looked up at Tara and Willow, "I'll be right back, alright?"

"Uh huh?" said Tara and Willow together as the Colonel vanished in a flash of white light; leaving the two young women alone with Thor who tilted his head and blinked at the both of them.

**Outside Stevenson Hall, 2322 hours.**

Major Carter had hurriedly opened the Jeep's driver side door after getting the call from Daniel. Although he said that it was most likely the Asgard who beamed the Colonel away, the Major still wanted to make sure that Willow and Tara were alright. However, the sight of the Major rushing out worried Anya who also opened the rear passenger side door hurriedly before joining the Major.

"What's going on?" asked Anya as they rushed through the completely empty parking lot towards the dorm, "Major?"

"Um…." Said the Major looking sideways towards Anya, "the Colonel was….."

Before she could finish her sentence, there was a bright white flash of light behind them. Turning around, the Major and Anya were surprised to see the Colonel standing next to the car waving at them.

"How?" said Anya as she looked at the Major who started to walk back to the car, "ummm…. how?"

A confused Anya ran after the Major as the both of them came up to Colonel O'Neill who told them that both Willow and Tara were beamed up to Thor's ship.

"Wait" said Anya surprised, "Thor? As is the god, Thor? That Thor? Thor's an alien? I prayed to an alien?"

"Sorry" said the Colonel sheepishly, "but Carter here can explain everything once you get home. In the meantime, Red and Tara are safe. I should get back up and see what's up with Thor."

"Alright, sir" said Major Carter.

"I'll have Red tell you what's going on when she gets back?" said the Colonel while he looked at Major Carter who nodded her head, "I mean he'll probably use all those big science words… you know?"

"Understood, sir" said the Major as she stepped back.

"Could I talk to Thor?" asked Anya, "I'd like to ask him about why the hell he never…."

"Anya" said the Major as she held on to the woman's shoulder, "don't worry, I'll tell you why he and his people didn't interfere."

"You do that" said the Colonel as he looked at the Major and then at Anya before nodding his head and smiling. He then pressed the crystal which covered him in a bright flash of light before he vanished.

**The Beliskner, orbit over Earth, 2324 hours.**

Willow and Tara were standing together still looking at their surroundings while the grey alien that had introduced himself as Thor continued to work behind a console. While looking at the grey alien, Tara whispered into Willow's ear and asked the redhead if her alternate counterpart had given her memories about all this.

"No" whispered Willow, "she just showed be some battles, some bits and pieces of her adventure… kinda like a montage. She obviously kept a lot of things away from me, but she did say she wanted me to carve my own future.. so I guess it's understandable."

"True" whispered Tara.

"Ummm…" said Willow as she approached Thor cautiously while Tara nervously held on to the redhead's arm, "hi, sorry about… you know… fainting…"

"I should be the one to apologize" said Thor as he walked out from behind the console again, "I had received a report from Eir about an alternate version of yourself who came through a quantum mirror to this reality. She provided Eir with a sample of her blood, which she said contained a way to help save my race. IN my haste, I beamed you up to my ship without permission."

"No" said Willow as she shook her head, "no need to apologize… it's just that… wow… I mean… I've read articles on the Roswell Greys but…."

"I see" said Thor as he nodded his head, "I am a member of the Asgard race.. we have been watching over the humans on this world, and countless others, for millennia."

"Oh" said Tara, "so… are… are you the real Thor? I mean… I.. I… the Thor I heard of carries a hammer… and.."

"The Asgard have established ourselves as gods of the primitive peoples of this world, as well as countless others" said Thor as he walked behind another console and moved some crystals around. He was then covered in a holographic shell of a tall Viking warrior complete with a hammer, "however, unlike the Goa'uld, we seek not to enslave the human race. We have helped when required, as Colonel O'Neill will one day tell you… but we leave the humans to themselves so that they would be able to evolve, naturally."

"Umm…" said Tara as she raised her hand while Thor dispelled the hologram, "why am I here?"

"You were caught in the transport beam" said Thor, "I apologize, I could send you back to your domicile if you so wish."

"No" said both Tara and Willow together as there was another flash of light that revealed Colonel O'Neill who handed the smooth crystal back to the grey alien, before walking towards Tara and Willow.

"You girls alright?" asked the Colonel as both Willow and Tara nodded their heads. Satisfied that they were alright, he then turned about and raised an eyebrow at the alien, "Thor? Buddy? What's going on?"

"Apologies, O'Neill" said Thor as he pressed a crystal on the console and a screen appeared on the wall behind him with a strand of DNA that was rotating, "you recall the alternate of Miss. Rosenberg who had given Eir her blood for testing?"

"Captain Rosenberg" said the Colonel while nodding his head, "yeah… but that was months ago."

"We have had some.. problems" said Thor as he looked at the Colonel, "the Asgard are fighting another enemy much more dangerous than the Goa'uld… I was assisting with another project to help fight this enemy. Since that has been unsuccessful, I finally managed to take a look at the data that Eir had collected on Captain Rosenberg."

"Yea" said the Colonel, "and?"

"Do you recall what you were told about the Alliance of Four Great Races?" asked Thor as he blinked his eyes at the Colonel.

"Yeah" said the Colonel, "but maybe you should explain again… you know… for Red and Tara's sake."

"Smooth" said Tara when she figured out that the Colonel either forgot what he was told about this Alliance, or that he wasn't listening then. The Colonel then looked back at Tara and shrugged his shoulders whole the blonde witch stifled a laugh.

"Very well" said Thor, "the Alliance was made up of the Four Great Races in the galaxy; the Ancients, the creators of the Stargates; the Nox, The Asgard and the Furlings. The Alliance lasted for millennia until the Ancients left this region of space, the Nox retreated into their own world, the Furlings left this galaxy and lost contact with all the other races, which left only the Asgard."

"Right" said Colonel O'Neill, "yeah.. now I remember."

"Wow" said Tara as she looked at Willow and then at Thor, "four races that protected this galaxy."

"Yes" said Thor as he looked at Willow, "the blood sample that Major Rosenberg had given Eir showed that she has a unique protein marker that could be the key in saving the Asgard."

"She said that she has the Ancient gene, like me" said the Colonel.

"Ancient gene?" asked Willow confused while the Colonel turned back to her surprised.

"She didn't tell you?" asked the Colonel as he looked at Willow who shook her head.

"No" said Willow, "I guess she really didn't show me a lot of things."

"It was for the best" said Tara as she smiled at Willow, "like you said… she did it so that you could carve out your own future."

"Miss. Rosenberg" said Thor as he walked towards the redhead.

"Please" she said, "please call me Willow."

"What she never mentioned I believe" said Thor, "was that she has a unique protein marker which was created thanks to the interactions of her Ancient, and Furling genes."

"What?" said a shocked Willow who looked at the grey alien, and then at Tara and the Colonel before turning back to Thor, "but.. .but… how?"

"If I were to infer" said Thor, "I believe it could have come from your mother.. however, with your permission I would like to examine your body for the protein marker."

"Can't you just use the marker from the blood the Captain gave you?" asked Colonel O'Neill while Thor shook his head.

"It has been genetically locked to prevent tampering" said Thor, "I would require her body to remove the lock.. but since she is unavailable…."

"Yes" said Willow before she looked back and smiled at Tara and the Colonel, "I give you permission."

"Thank you" said Thor as he walked towards the console and turned a crystal clockwise as a panel on the far wall slid up and a cylindrical pod shaped device with a transparent cover slid out. He then motioned Willow to follow him as the cover opened, "please, step into this medical pod."

"Alright" said Willow as she stepped in with her front towards the transparent cover as it slowly closed over her while Tara and the Colonel walked closer. She then felt a tingle go through her entire body, followed by a bright flash of white light that temporarily had her seeing spots everywhere. Before she knew it, the transparent cover had opened again, and the Colonel helped the dazed Willow out of the medical pod before Tara stood next to the redhead as they smiled at each other.

"Thor?" asked the Colonel as Thor moved to another console, "anything?"

Willow and Tara were looking at each other excitedly before turning back to the alien whose face the redhead had noticed went suddenly downcast. She really wasn't aware if the Asgard showed emotions to strangers, or to other races, but she could see that the alien closed his eyes for a few seconds longer than usual and hung his head. Even the Colonel had noticed something was wrong as he walked towards Thor who looked up and walked away from the console and towards the group.

"I am sorry" said Thor as he looked at Willow, "I am afraid you do not have the protein marker."

TBC.

 


	31. Chapter 31

**The Beliskner, orbit over Earth, 2335 hours.**

After what Thor had just said, Willow could only look open mouthed in complete and utter surprise at the grey alien before looking at Tara, and the Colonel. She then turned back to Thor and asked him, with disappointment clear in her voice, if he was absolutely sure that she wasn't anything like Captain Willow.

"Red" said Colonel O'Neill as Thor walked up to Willow while Tara stood a bit closer to the redhead, "it doesn't matter if you're like Captain Rosenberg or not. We still want you with us."

"You are similar in every way to Captain Rosenberg of the other reality" said Thor as the screen behind him changed to show a strand of DNA with arrows pointing to certain sections as words in the Asgard language blinked red, "the both of you have the Ancient and Furling genes. However, Captain Rosenberg's Ancient gene has take precedence over the Furling gene; even though the both of them are active. It is the other way for you, your Furling gene is active, however your Ancient gene is dormant. It seems that the interaction between the two genes is what forms the protein marker."

"So, how did she activate it?" asked Willow.

"You don't know?" asked the Colonel as Willow shook her head.

"Like I told Tara" replied Willow looking at Tara, and then back at the Colonel, "she showed me a montage of her adventures, enough to make me thirst for more… but apparently not enough for the whole picture."

"I see" said Thor as he walked back to the console.

"Thor" said the Colonel as he walked towards the console where Thor was now standing, with Tara and Willow following close behind, "there was one thing she told us; something happened to her in her own reality; well, that her body was cloned."

"What?" asked both Willow and Tara together as they looked at the Colonel in surprise.

"So she wasn't real?" asked Tara as she looked at the Colonel, and then at Willow who was looking out the window in the distance.

"Colonel?" asked the redhead in a squeaky voice as she turned back and looked at the man.

"What she told me and Carter was that something happened to her" said the Colonel as he recalled the conversation the both of them had with Captain Willow in Joyce's living room months ago, "that her body had to be cloned since.. look, she didn't tell us everything either…. All she said was that something major happened to her, and that her body had to be cloned."

Willow noticed that the Colonel was looking at her with sadness etched in his face, she could simply tell that there was something terrible her counterpart had told him. Something that Captain Willow had not told her, but instead told the two people who were her superior officers. The redhead looked at Tara, before looking at the Colonel again and reiterated her desire for a change; that she wanted to work at Stargate Command. Willow told Colonel O'Neill that while finding out what Captain Willow told them may be a shock to her, she believed that she could take it.

"So could I" said Tara as she stood close to Willow.

"Red… Willow" said the Colonel as he walked towards the redhead and stopped just a few steps away while Thor stepped back slightly, "what Captain Rosenberg told us was that somehow, her Ancient gene was activated… but that activation caused another problem for her down the road. She said that her body wasn't able to handle all that power… so…."

"So?" said Tara as she looked at the Colonel with eyes wide open in shock.

"So" said the Colonel as he looked at Thor, "the Asgard gave her a new body… a genetically engineered body that was similar to near ascended Ancients so that her body could handle all that power."

"I see" said Thor as he looked at the Colonel and then at the shocked Tara and Willow, "I had come to the same conclusion as well, I discovered markers that indicated that she was a clone. Had she mentioned anything to you, O'Neill, about how her Ancient Gene was activated?"

"No" said the Colonel as he looked at Willow's face. He then walked over to the young woman and put his hand on her shoulder gently; he told her that she's still living her own life, that Captain Willow didn't want the redhead to live hers. He continued by saying that what Captain Willow said were the things that happened to her, and those things, whatever they were; may not happen to Willow.

"I know" said Willow as she looked at her hands, "but without powers, without magic…."

"Magic?" asked Thor as he tilted his head while he blinked at the redhead, "are you referring to Mystics?"

"Mystics?" asked Tara and Willow surprised.

"Thor?" asked the Colonel turning back to the grey alien, "I thought the Asgard were more sciency than magicy?"

"Magicy?" asked Tara smiling as she looked at the Colonel who shrugged his shoulders.

"The Furlings were great scientists" said Thor, "however, there were sects that were devoted to both the sciences and the mystics. There were other sects that focused purely on practicing mystics as well. It was the science and the hybrid-mystic sects that were a part of the alliance. However, the ones that practiced pure mystics were said to want nothing to do with any alliance."

"Oh" said Tara.

"Mystics have not been encountered by the Asgard in thousands of years" said Thor as he looked at Tara and then at Willow while nodding his head, "are there more humans versed in the mystics on Earth?"

"If you mean magic users" said Tara as she looked at Willow who gave the blonde a small smile and nodded her head, "Willow and I know magic; or mystics. Willow hasn't used magic in months… which I'm so proud of, and I try my best not to use it as well."

"Interesting" said Thor as he walked closer to the two young women, "are there more like you?"

"Yes" said Willow as she nodded her head.

"And Captain Rosenberg left a note in her report that magic's addictive" said the Colonel as Tara looked at him in surprise, "she said that it's like a drug that makes the user addicted if he, or she, isn't careful."

"Yeah" said Tara as she looked at the Colonel, "that means something must have happened to her in her own reality. Something that she couldn't control."

"Yea" said the Colonel, "but she didn't tell us. Red, did she tell you?"

"No" said Willow as she looked into the distance before turning and looking at Colonel O'Neill, "even with what she told you about magic being addictive; despite me not wanting to use magic… you'd still have me?"

The Colonel suspected that despite all of Willow's outward confidence, she was still scared of being alone on the inside. So he walked over to the redhead, gave her a little frown before hugging a very surprised Willow.

"Yes, I will. Of course you still have to graduate from the Academy" said the Colonel as he whispered into Willow's ear before stepping back and holding onto Willow's shoulders, "and then I can't wait to have two eggheads on my team."

"Thanks" said Willow as she nodded at the Colonel before turning back and smiling at Tara.

"Thor" said Tara, "could you check if I have the Furling gene?"

"If you so wish" said Thor as he led Tara nodded her head. He then led the blonde Wiccan towards the same medical pod that Willow had been in earlier. Stepping into the pod, Willow and the Colonel looked at the monitor behind Thor as a white light in the machine flashed and a scan of Tara's body showed up on the screen. Thor moved a control as the image changed to show a strand of DNA while at the same time, opening the door of the pod. Willow looked up in surprise at the technology while the Colonel helped Tara step out of the pod.

"Well?" asked the Colonel as Willow walked up to the both of them and looked at the alien, "anything?"

"Yes" said Thor as he looked at the screen, "she has the Furling gene."

"Neat" said Willow and the Colonel together as they looked at an embarrassed Tara.

"It seems that not all the Furlings left this galaxy" said Thor as he looked up at Tara, and then at Willow and the Colonel, "it is not always that the Asgard meet people from Earth who carry with the legacy of two races."

"I don't understand though" said Tara scratching her head, "magic… or mystics… can be learnt by anyone….. so how? I mean does this mean that they are Furlings as well?"

"I am unable to answer that question" said Thor, "what the Asgard know from our dealing with the Furlings is that the gene allows you to be more sensitive to the mystics. I cannot be sure how accurate their claims are since as we have not had much contact with the sects that solely practiced the mystics. However, I can tell you that the Furlings were also great empaths… they were able to read, and heal emotions."

"Aura reading" said Tara under her breath so that Willow was the only one able to hear her. While Willow looked at the blonde and smiled, Thor was asking the Colonel if he could ask a human without the gene to be tested on his ship. That way, he could be able to know the extent the Furling gene plays in the control of magic.

"Sorry" said the Colonel shaking his head, "the President, nor the SGC, can allow that Thor… maybe one day when the program's been disclosed, but not till then."

"I see" said Thor.

"I'm sorry, Thor" said Willow as she looked at the alien, "maybe one day my Ancient gene will activate and then… well, I hope that when that day comes, I can help you."

"In the meantime" said the Colonel as he looked at both Willow and Tara, "how about we get back to Sunnydale?"

"Umm….." said Willow with her hand up, "I was hoping that I could maybe ask Thor about his people's technology?"

"I am sorry" said Thor as he walked towards Willow, "as the Asgard High Council has told Stargate Command, we are unable to give our technology away to Earth… particularly the weapons technology."

"Oh" said Willow as he looked at the Colonel who shrugged his shoulders before she turned back to look at Thor, "do you have shields? What about the engines on this ship? What powers it?"

"Yes" said Thor nodding his head as Willow gave Tara as wide grin before looking at Thor again, "this vessel is equipped with shielding technology. This entire ship is powered by a series of neutrino-ion generators. As for our engines, we have both sublight and intergalactic hyper-drives and…"

"Intergalactic?" said an excited Willow as she looked at Tara, "they can go to other galaxy's. Can you imagine… that is just so cool."

"I got that" grinned Tara as she looked at the excited Willow, who then turned and looked at Thor.

"Can I just take a look? Pease? Just a look at the engine itself, please" said Willow almost begging as her voice entered a slightly higher pitch, "the only faster than light drives I've ever seen were on television and those are just works of fiction. And this is something that's real life, I'm not asking for the technical details but all I would like to see it.. so… please?"

"Breathe much?" said the Colonel as he looked at Willow.

"Sorry" said Willow sheepishly, "I ramble on when I get excited."

"She does" said Tara as she smiled at the Colonel.

"I am sorry" said Thor shaking his head before heading off to another console, "however, I can show you this…"

Willow, Tara and Colonel O'Neill turned towards the window as they saw Earth getting smaller rapidly before they were travelling a blue and white corridor.

"Wow" said Willow as she ran to the window excitedly and looked outside while Tara just looked at the Colonel with her eyes wide open in surprise while the Colonel smiled and shrugged before he gently took a hold of the nervous girl's arm and led her to the window.

"We are in hyperspace" said Thor from behind the console as Willow looked back at him while Tara looked out the window, still in shock. The Colonel, for his part, could only look out non-chalantly before turning around and asking Thor where he was taking them. It was then that they exited hyperspace and Willow felt a hand tapping on her should while she was looking at Thor. Turning around, she looked with her eyes wide open as she, Tara and the Colonel looked out the window.

"Is… is that…" said Willow as she pressed her hands on the window and looked out.

"Andromeda" said the Colonel as he nodded his head which made both Willow and Tara turn and look at him. Smiling at the redhead and the blonde, the Colonel just shrugged. He then turned towards Thor and asked him if he was just showing off. He smiled when the alien just looked at him, blinked a few times and looked back down on the console… a hint of a smile appearing on his face.

"How.. how far?" asked Tara as she looked at the collection of stars that made up the Andromeda Galaxy that just hung in space, "how far have we travelled?"

"A little more than two million light years" said Willow softly, and with a hint of amazement, "we travelled a little more than two million light years in under a minute. Only a few seconds…. Wowwie damn."

"Oh boy" said the Colonel as he looked at the Andromeda galaxy while glancing at the excited look on Willow's face, "Carter's gonna be so jealous of you."

Just then, they saw the blue and white corridor again before the three turned back to Thor, who was still behind the console. They turned back to face the window, when after a few seconds, the hyperspace corridor vanished and they found themselves back in the orbit of Earth.

"Wow" said Willow as she rubbed her face with her hands as she opened her eyes wide, "that was so cool."

"As O'Neill had already told Baldur when he came to us for help in order to extract all the knowledge of the Ancients from his mind" said Thor was he stepped out from behind the console and walked towards the three of them, "the human race is curious.. and I hope that this would build on that curiosity."

"Oh it so does" said Willow excitedly as she looked at a smiling Tara, "it really does."

"Very well" said Thor, "I will came back in another year to perform a physical examination as we agreed, I assume that this would be acceptable by the SGC?"

"Yea" said the Colonel who was secretly surprised by what the Asgard had showed all of them, "it is."

"Thank you" said Thor, "I will return you back to the surface, I have received a message from the High Council about the enemy movements, and I am needed."

"Thor" said the Colonel, "just send us to the places you took us from."

"Very well" said Thor as he walked back to the console and turn some crystals. Before the three of them knew it, they were awash in bright white light.

**Stevenson Hall, Tara's Room, 0000 hours.**

There was a buzzing sound followed by a bright flash of white light in the middle of Tara's room in Stevenson Hall. After the light had faded, there were two young women standing on the carpet who were still in shock about what just happened. Tara slowly reached for the redhead's hand and held on tight before they looked at each other.

"Wow" said Willow as she looked at Tara, "wow."

"I.. I know" said Tara, "I think the word you need to use should be something more than wow."

"I can't think" replied Willow softly.

"Neither can I" said the blonde, "except for… well, Wow."

The blonde looked at the excitement in Willow's eyes and caressed her cheeks.

"That really excited you, didn't it?" asked Tara as she ran her hand through Willow's hair.

"Yea" said Willow, "I admit I was a bit disappointed that I'm not the same as my counterpart.. at least powers-wise… but after what I just saw, after what we just saw… I want nothing else but to go to the stars."

"Without me?" asked Tara as she pouted her lips.

"Always with you" said Willow as she placed an arm around Tara's waist and pulled her towards her, "always with you."

Tara brushed her fingers on Willow's lips, and her cheeks but noticed that the redhead was taking glances out the window. It was then that the blonde witch grinned and leaned forward and whispered into Willow's ear.

"You're thinking about how they got into hyperspace, aren't you?" said Tara as she bit Willow's ear lobe before looking at the redhead smiling sheepishly.

"Uh huh" said a squeaky voiced Willow, "I mean… can you imagine how much energy it takes to do that? I wonder if their shields work in hyperspace, how about weapons… and beaming technology… Tara… we were beamed aboard. Holy banana's, we were beamed to a spaceship. Xander's gonna be so jealous.. oh.. oh.. oh… Colonel O'Neill was beamed up… probably near Xander. Can you imagine the freak out?"

"I know" said Tara as she looked at the eyes of an excited Willow as she gently cupped the back of the redhead's head.

"Am I being too excited?" asked Willow sheepishly, "because if I am, then you need to tell me… sometimes I get so excited that I keep on going and going."

"Like the energizer bunny?" asked Tara who was trying to stifle a laugh.

"Yeah" said Willow, "sorry."

"I like it" replied the blonde as she kissed Willow while mumbling at the same time, "I like you… I.. I love you."

"You do?" asked Willow as she pulled back from the kiss as Tara looked on in concern, it was as if she had done something horrible and that Willow was about to just leave, "Tara?"

"I.. I.. I… jus.. just realized" said Tara as she tried to pull bac but Willow was still holding on to her tightly, "I.. I never… you know… never said the 'L' word… I… I… we… you know… nev.. never discussed it and…"

"I love you too" said Willow as pulled Tara back and kissed her again before the redhead stopped and looked at the blonde's face, "and I'm not saying that because I'm still so pumped because we just experienced something so cool. I'm saying it cause I mean it. I love you. I really love you."

TBC.

 


	32. Chapter 32

**The Summers Residence, few months ago.**

Faith had come to the alternate reality to find Willow and Dawn, and bring them back to their own reality. It had taken some time but she and Colonel Carter managed to reset the Quantum Mirror in their reality, which General O'Neill then reactivated, before she stepped through carrying her weapons and two Jaffa staff weapons. She helped Willow, and the SG-1 of the alternate reality she had come to rescue her girlfriend and Dawn, defeat the Initiative and completely destroy Adam before he could pose a significant threat.

The brunette Slayer had the pleasure of making sure that Maggie Walsh survived to be punished for what she tried to do to Dawn, and to the Willow of the alternate reality. Now that everyone was safe, including her Willow's counterpart, she was standing in the living room looking at pictures…. Pictures that didn't have Dawn anywhere in them.

'Another year' thought Faith to herself, 'she'll be here in another year; at least that's my guess based on what B told me before the Council was formed.'

As she was looking at the pictures, Faith felt someone tapping on her shoulder. Smiling, she turned around to see her Willow smiling at her, while the Willow of the current reality was standing near the kitchen doorway looking at her, and the other redhead nervously.

"Hey" said Faith, "you gonna tell her everything?"

"Uh huh" said Captain Willow, "we'll go down to the basement for some privacy."

"Good" said Faith as she turned around and looked at all the pictures before looking back at Willow again, "listen, you still have that tablet with you? The one from our reality with the schematics of the Initiative base?"

"Yeah" said Willow as she walked towards a bag next to the couch, the same bag where she left her weapons the previous night. Putting the bag on top of the couch while Colonel O'Neill and Colonel Carter were talking with the M.P's; while Daniel and Teal'c were dealing with Walsh and the others outside the house, Willow took out the tablet and handed it to Faith.

"You thinking about leaving the Faith of this reality a message?" asked Willow as the brunette Slayer nodded her head. Smiling at her girlfriend, Willow deleted any sensitive information that was on the tablet before handing it to Faith. She told her that the only information that could be considered sensitive was the secret entrances and exits that existed in the Initiative base, and that she could now make her recording.

"I'll get the go ahead from Big-G" said Faith as she nodded towards Colonel O'Neill before looking at the redhead of the current reality, and then she looked at Captain Willow, "go, talk to her."

"I'll do that" said Willow who sensed that Colonel O'Neill and the others were close by, "I'll be back?"

"Sure" replied Faith as Captain Willow gently squeezed her arm before walking back towards her counterpart. The Slayer watched her Willow take a hold of the other Willow's hand before they opened the door to the basement and walked downstairs. She looked at the tablet in her hand, and then she caught a glimpse of Dawn and Joyce talking to each other.

She saw Joyce smiling while she brushed her hands on Dawn's check as she said something to her. Faith saw the brunette nod her head and smile at Joyce before the older blonde woman gave Dawn a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Dawn' thought Faith to herself before she smiled at Joyce who was walking towards her with Dawn in tow. Looking at Joyce, Faith's heart broke when she recalled having heard of her death from Angel after she was put into prison. She received the news when Angel had visited her the day after he returned from Sunnydale where he sat with Buffy for nearly the entire night; at least until just before the sun came back up. She recalled her reaction as well when she first heard it, when she first heard that Joyce had died. It upset her as she sat on the bed in her cell where her back was on the wall as she thought about Joyce, that no matter how she felt about Buffy at the time…. losing a mother, especially a mother as loving and caring as Joyce would be devastating. Wanting to feel glad that Buffy was devastated, Faith just couldn't bring herself to feel that particular emotion.. instead, she said a silent prayer for Joyce and hoped that both Buffy and Dawn would be able to make it through this and be there for each other.

Back in Joyce's house in the alternate reality, Faith walked up to Joyce and gave her a tight hug and apologized for everything… everything that she hasn't done yet. With Dawn watching, the brunette Slayer asked Joyce to watch over her alternate when, and if, she wakes up. After she got the blonde's assurance that yes, she would do everything to help her alternate…. Faith went to the backyard with the tablet.

**Sunnydale Memorial Hospital, Faith's room, Present day; 0600 hours.**

Faith couldn't sleep much as she lay on her bed in her hospital room. It was been two hours since Janet had come by to check up on her. The Slayer, not wanting to incur the wrath of the short redhead, would pretend to sleep when she heard Janet's footsteps coming towards her room. After she checked the Slayer's vitals, Janet would leave the room to check on the other members of the second Special Operations squad from the Council while they were being watched by M.P's from the Sunnydale Army base. It would be then that Faith opened one eye to make sure that Janet was gone before sighing and opening her other eye.

'I've been sleeping for too long' though Faith to herself as she slowly sat up on her bed. Turning to face her left when she heard a noise, the brunette Slayer smiled when she saw Joyce asleep and snoring under a blanket. Smiling to herself, she then looked up at the clock on the far wall and sighed when it said that it was only six in the morning. Twisting her body and grabbing a hold on the guard rails on one side of the bed, she pressed down on the release mechanism. Then, with a click that made Faith turn and look at Joyce, hoping that she didn't wake up the blonde from her sleep… the brunette then slowly pushed the rail down before she was sitting with her legs dangling off the bed.

"Hey" said a hushed voice behind Faith.

"Sorry" said Faith as she looked back over her shoulder at Joyce whose eyes were squinting at her, "didn't mean to wake you."

"It's alright" replied Joyce as she slowly sat up as well, while yawning and stretching her arms over her head, "you're up early?"

"Couldn't sleep for too long" said Faith while dangling her feet over the edge of the hospital bed, "all I've been able to do for the past few months was dream and sleep, and oddly enough… I'm tired of all that. Since I found about an alternate me here, I've been wondering about her…. you know… what was she like? Was she happy? If I can become someone like her? Or…."

"Hold on" said Joyce as she smiled at Faith.

Faith saw Joyce rub her nose before she stood up while tightening the blanket around herself as she walked over to Faith's bed. She then saw Joyce walk past her and head towards the far table where a black handbag lay on a chair.

"I know the other Willow showed our Willow some of her memories" said Joyce as she reached into the handbag before she pulled out a small black object. She then closed her bag and turned around to head back to Faith. Handing over the small six inch tablet to the young woman, Joyce breathed a sigh of relief when it turned itself on after Faith pressed the button on the side. She remembered that the tablet was in the same bag that she had used to hit the nurse that tried to inject Faith.

"What's this?" asked Faith as she looked at the Department of Defence logo on the start screen before it headed to the home screen which only had one file.

"A tablet that your counterpart gave me and Colonel O'Neill" said Joyce as Faith looked up at her in surprise, "she knew what Willow was going to do, so she decided to leave you something. I showed this to the Colonel after they left and he said it was alright to give it to you when you woke up since everything sensitive was already deleted."

"But…" said Faith when Joyce interrupted her.

"Don't worry" said Joyce smiling, "even Major Carter…. I mean, Sam went through it. That's yours to keep if you want. The video she made was for you anyway, I was going to give this to you later on but…. but maybe it's something you need to see and hear. Something that will tell you that you'll be alright."

"And who better to tell me… than me" said Faith as she looked at the blue background of the screen, and then she looked at the sole file at the upper left corner of the screen.

"That message is for you" said Joyce as she headed back to the couch in the corner and took the blanket off her and put it on the couch. She then straightened out her clothes before turning around and smiling at Faith, "I'll go get some coffee with Dr. Fraiser, you should listen to what you have to say."

"Alright" said Faith as she watched Joyce yawn again before she left the room. Looking back down at the tablet in her hands, Faith pressed the touch screen and waited for the message to activate. She brought her legs back onto the bed as she sat cross-legged while the video started to play.

"How the hell…. Come on…"

Faith smiled as she saw blue skies on the shaky video as the tablet was being moved around.

"Where is… oh… there it is. Yeah… so not telling Red about this."

Faith laughed as she heard her own voice while she guessed her alternate self may have been looking for a front facing camera. It was then that she saw her counterpart, who looked sheepishly at the small camera that was located at the top left hand corner of the tablet.

"Hey… don't blame me for this alright" said the alternate Faith, "anyway…. Not to sound cliché, and stating the obvious at the same time… I know… but if you're seeing this video, then it means that you've got clearance to, well, see this video… and that you're awake. If you're not awake… and if B somehow managed to get her hands on this tablet, then B I suggest you turn it off because I'll be talking about the positions that Willow and I use so that we could have the best mind-blowing sex, ever. You know… that's why I made this for my alternate self. So unless you wanna hear about the down and dirty details, you should shut this off. You have two minutes."

Faith couldn't help but laugh as she saw her older alternate looking around. Faith then heard her alternate self start to hum a song that she remembered that her first watcher, Professor Dormer would hum after rescuing her from the clutches of her biological mother. She looked at the time on the top right hand side of the tablet, and once two minutes had passed by; the Faith on the screen stopped humming and smiled at the tablet.

"I know Buffy as well as you know Buffy" said the alternate Faith as the Faith of this reality nodding her head, "there is no way she'll want to hear about anything sexual about her best friend… and I know you as well, cause well, you're me and we definitely want to know how to get the redhead all hot and bothered."

"Kinda" said Faith as she looked at the screen. She could tell from the background and the people that were walking past the door leading to the kitchen that her alternate self had recorded this in the backyard of the Summers home, "I mean I don't mind."

"Well" said the alternate Faith as she stuck her tongue out at the tablet, "I won't tell. All that is between me and her, I'm just here to tell you a story… a quick story."

"A story?" asked Faith as she looked at her alternate who pushed a few strands of hair that was covering her left eye behind her ear.

"You heard me, this is a story" said the alternate Faith, "my background is pretty much the same as yours; deadbeat dad, bitch of a mum, the Professor, Kakistos, Buffy and Sunnydale to everything that happened with the Mayor, and our attempted murder at B's hands."

"True" said Faith as she nodded her head.

"MY story changes right there" said the alternate Faith, "I did wake up eight months after I was put into my coma, I've had those dreams as well, the same ones I'm guessing you've had. Anyway, the story goes like this… once upon a time, a lonely girl woke up alone in a hospital bed. She was confused, she didn't know what was going on… or how much time passed. She thought she was gone only a few days when in fact she was in a coma for months. The school was gone, the one man she thought of as a father was dead…. Killed by the same woman who put her in the coma. So, the girl used all her anger to get out of the hospital and plan her revenge against the girl."

"What did she do?" asked Faith to herself as she saw her alternate sigh and then close her eyes.

"The girl" said the alternate Faith, "the girl came across an object that she knew would destroy her enemy's life….. they switched bodies, and the angry girl caused chaos. She held the enemy's mother hostage and was actually willing to kill her… the angry girl was that far gone."

"Joyce" said Faith as she looked at the door that Joyce had earlier left through, "how…. How could I?"

"When the enemy… the girl who the angry girl thought of as the princess, came crashing in to save the mother" said the alternate Faith, "the angry girl fought… the two of them nearly destroyed the princess' house before the angry girl succeeded in her plan. She took over the body, and life of the princess… while the princess took over the body and life of the angry girl. The angry girl then saw the princess get arrested and taken away, but she didn't care. The angry girl had the life of the princess, and was going to get out and life the life that should have been hers."

"My God" said Faith as she kept on listening as her alternate continued to tell her everything that happened after that. She continued to listen as the alternate Faith told this reality's Faith about how Angel helped her, that she was convinced that she had to finally pay for what happened in Sunnydale; that because of the murder of Professor Worth, she turned herself in to the LAPD and that it was the best thing she ever did. The alternate Faith then talked about meeting Willow for the first time again after many years, and how the old feelings that accompanied the crush on the redhead came back. She told Faith about what she did to Willow for the Slayer's Council.. that they had lost their way.

"I know there's one part of her the forgives me" said Faith as she looked at the tablet, "just as I know that there's another part that can never forget the part I played in her capture. But you and I know the type of girl she is… because if you're anything like me, then you've had feelings for her as well."

"Yes" said Faith softly as she closed her eyes, "but she's got someone else."

"For a long time" said the alternate Faith, "I kept on thinking about Finch and Professor Worth… I still keep on thinking about them. I still wake up screaming after I have nightmares where the both of them drag me to hell; but when I'm up and crying, Willow's always been there for me… always. IF Willow's not with you, find someone… find someone like her. You'll have nightmares about Finch and Worth too, and the truth is that you can't stop it. A very good friend of mine once told me that what happened in the past happened, there's nothing we could do to change it… all we could do is make sure we do better for the future. Faith, work towards something better for yourself… what happened to Finch and Worth, well… it happened. Look to the future and change things for the better; for you, for others… live your life… protect others. I wish I could tell you that everything would be alright… but I really don't know if everything will be alright for you. But I can tell you that Joyce will do everything she can to help you, and so will Willow. The both of us have been alone for too long, Faith. I've got people who care for me, who'll go through heaven and hell to find me if I get lost… and I know you can have the same things too. Whether you join Willow, or you become the Slayer with B in Sunnydale… you will be cared for. Angel was a rock for me after my breakdown, so was Cordy. She's a firebrand I tell you… tells everything as it is. Angel, well.. other than being my rock at that critical point in my life… he's someone you can trust. Just don't follow his depressing and brooding view of everything. It gets tiring after a while… trust me on that."

"King Broody" said Faith to herself as she shook her head.

"It's about time for me to go, Faith" said the alternate Faith as she looked back into the kitchen. She then turned back to the tablet and smiled, "you'll be alright. You've got people there who'll watch out for you… I know they will. I know Joyce will, I know Willow will…. Oh, there's this girl called Tara… she's kinda cool too."

"She's the one dating Willow" said Faith to herself.

"Giles is a bit boring sometimes" said the alternate Faith, "but.. he has his moments. Xander and Anya get kinda cool. Oh, and keep B grounded will ya. Sometimes she needs someone to keep her feet on the ground. And…. I.. I hope that you'll be happy. I want you to be happy, find someone who'll push you.. someone who'll make you better than you already are. Someone who'll encourage you, and will be there when you need him or her. Finish school, or get your GED… get a degree…. Dust vamps… or join Willow. Either way, whichever way you go..there's an adventure waiting for you.

"Faith!" shouted Willow's voice from behind the alternate Faith as she turned around.

"Red!"

Faith watched as her alternate sat to one side, looked up behind her and smiled as another pair of legs appeared. She heard her alternate tell Willow to take a seat next to her and say hello.

"Hi, Faith" said Captain Willow as she sat down next to Faith and waved at the tablet.

"Willow" said Faith as she looked at Willow and her alternate smiling at each other, and then at the tablet.

"You'll be alright, Faith" said Willow as she looked behind her before turning back to the tablet again. She then brought her fingers to her lips, kissed them and then put her fingers on the screen, "anyway, we should be going. Entropic Cascade Failure and all. Take care of yourself."

"Take care of yourself, Faith" said the alternate Faith, "I'm signing off now. Anyway, who knows; the way our lives are.. we could see each other again someday."

"Maybe" said Faith as she looked at the screen at her smiling counterpart before the screen went blank, signalling the end of the video message, "maybe we will. In the meantime, I guess I've got a life to live."

TBC.

 


	33. Chapter 33

**Stevenson Hall, U.C. Sunnydale, 0730hours.**

Tara slowly opened her eyes as slivers of the morning sun came in through the gaps in her blind covered windows. Smiling at herself, she looked at the other side of her bed which was usually occupied by Willow Since the both of them started to date. Turning to her left, Tara looked at the redhead who was still deep asleep on the floor in a sleeping bag. Willow bought that sleeping bag since they started sleeping together in case of any type of emergency. And now it was an emergency; Tara wanted Willow to sleep with her on the bed after they had cooked some ramen in the communal kitchen in the dorms. After the both of them took the hot and steaming bowl of noodles back to Tara's room, they sat on the carpet with their backs leaning against the bed.

"I can't" Willow had told a pouting Tara as she slurped some of the springy noodles shile they were talking about sleeping arrangements, "you know I need my regular smoochies from you, but with Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill here…. and the fact that they could come by at any moment. Tara, I'm sorry… I don't want you to be angry at me but I don't know them very well and well, until I know more about them I can't tell them about us."

"Well" said Tara as she put her bowl down on the carpet and placed her head on Willow's shoulder, "I could always set up an alarm."

"And then?" asked Willow as she put down her bowl and placed her head on top of Tara's while intertwining her fingers into Tara's hand, "I scurry into the sleeping bag? What if I don't wanna leave you on the bed alone?"

"Then we can always find some kind of an excuse" said Tara as she moved her head from Willow's shoulder and looked at the redhead.

"I know" smiled Willow as she gave Tara a kiss before pulling back while Tara gave the redhead a pout, "but we gotta get used to, you know…"

"Not sleeping together" said Tara as she nodded her head while Willow lay her head on Tara's shoulder this time.

"Yea" said Willow softly as they stared at Tara's book shelf full of books on Art History, Psychology and Spell Craft, "do you wanna transfer to Colorado?"

"Of course" replied Tara, "do you want me there?"

"D'uh" said Willow, "of course I do. Sometimes I don't know what I'm thinking, you know."

"I'm not leaving you" said Tara, as she lay her head on top of Willow's, "I'm never leaving you; I just told you the feelings I have for you and… well, the only ever person I've ever said 'I love you' to is my mother."

"I really do" said Willow as she tightened her hold on Tara's hand, "I really do love you."

Following their dinner, Willow set up the sleeping bag next to Tara's side of the bed while the blonde witch went into her rest room to change into her pyjamas. Willow had already told her that it would be alright if Tara changed in front of her; that she had already seen her as her true self… which led to Tara sticking her tongue out at the redhead before getting into the restroom.

Now as Tara looked at Willow while the redhead was sleeping, Tara reached down from her bed and gingerly brushed her fingers against Willow's cheek. Tara smiled as the redhead shook her head and mumbled something about being chased by tadpoles before she went back to breathing steadily, although still asleep. Tara then reached down again and just brushed the back of her fingers along the redhead's cheek, down to her shoulders and then along her exposed arm which lay outside the sleeping bag.

Tara then brought her fingers to her own lips and kissed them before placing her fingers on Willow's lips. The blonde witch then slowly go off her bed from the other side and looked at the clock on her desk. Seeing that it was seven thirty in the morning, Tara walked to the restroom to take a shower and freshen up before leaving for her morning class. It was ten minutes later that she walked out in an orange T-Shirt and a long skirt when she noticed movement coming from the sleeping bag as a groggy Willow turned to lay on her back before she unzipped the sleeping bag and slowly sat up. Tara smiled at her girlfriend as the redhead sat up and wiped her eyes with the back of her fingers.

"Tara?" said Willow as she struggled to keep her eyes open, "where you going?"

"Class, sweetie" said Tara as she knelt next to Willow, "remember, we discussed last night that you were going to meet me outside the classroom, and then we'll meet Sam before going to visit Faith."

"Right" said Willow as she smiled at Tara, "how could I forget?"

"I wouldn't know" grinned Tara as she leaned in and gave Willow a kiss before she stood up. Willow reached for Tara's outstretched hand as the blonde woman helped the redhead stand up before going in for another kiss. Willow wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck while Tara wrapped her arms around Willow's waist and pulled her closer until Willow was held tightly against her body.

"You know" said Willow, "last night I know I suggested we sleep separately since Major Carter could have come anytime at night… so since it's morning right now, I was wondering if you'd be willing to skip your class? We could stay in, and then move on to meet Major Carter when it's time."

"Oh?" said Tara as she raised an eyebrow and grinned at Willow, "and what do you have planned Miss Rosenberg?"

"We could just remain like this" grinned Willow as the both of them started dancing while holding on to each other, "I like being just like this; me looking into those big brown eyes."

"And not being beamed into an alien ship?" asked Tara as Willow tried her best not to laugh, "can you imagine what would have happened if we were naked? Can you imagine the excuse we'd have to come up with?"

"Oh, oh, oh" said Willow excitedly, "I know. We'd just look at Colonel O'Neill and tell him that we tripped, and fell?"

"Out of our clothes?" said Tara as Willow started to giggle, "really? That's the best excuse you can come up with? The best genius excuse?"

"What?" said Willow smiling, "it could happen. We could use the best excuse ever.. we're on the Hellmouth. Things happen to clothes all the time. I could tell them that the Hellmouth created some kind of phasing field that affect only our clothes…. For some odd reason."

"Yeah" said Tara as she rolled up her eyes, "I really don't think that reasoning would work."

Just then, the two women turned their heads and looked at the door when they heard someone knocking. Willow and Tara then looked at each other questioningly as Willow asked Tara if she was expecting someone this early in the morning.

"No" whispered Tara as they let go of each other. Tara then walked towards the door and asked who it was. The answer she got stopped her in her tracks, and made the blood in her veins grow cold as she heard her heart beats increase. She then looked at a surprised Willow and watched her moth moving, but she couldn't hear a single word because of the sound of her heart beating in her ears. She saw the concerned look on Willow's face as she walked towards the stunned blonde who stood frozen in her tracks. Tara never told Willow about her past mainly because she was afraid of what Willow would say; she was afraid that Willow would leave her after she knew the truth. Tara knew in her heard that would never happen, but she feared it all the same; and now, her past caught up to her. Turning back to the door, Tara wondered how they found out where she was…. When she called the police station in her hometown of Eerie, she just let the detective that filed her report know that she was alright. He assured Tara that he wouldn't let her father know where she was, and he wished the blonde young woman to have a good life away from her family.

"Tara?" asked Willow as she put her hand on the blonde's shoulder, bringing her out of her deep thoughts, "what's going on? Your father's here?"

"Willow" said Tara as she placed both hands on her shoulder, "I need you to call Colonel O'Neill now and…"

The phone in Tara's room started to ring as Donnie, Tara's brother knocked on the door this time and asked her to pick up the phone.

"Tara" said Willow worried as she looked at the fear on Tara's face, "it's your family and…. Tara?"

"Willow" said a frightened Tara when she realized that the both of them were alone, and that she was sure her father and Donnie were armed, "I need you to hide in the restroom, please… I'm begging you to hide."

"No" said Willow as she looked at the door as the phone continued to ring before looking back at Tara when they heard her father's voice.

"Tara?" said Teddy softly, "listen baby, we just want to talk to you. You ran away from home without saying anything to us, and now we found you, honey."

"Tara?" said a confused Willow as Tara closed her eyes, "Tara? What's going on?"

"Willow" said Tara as her eyes opened again and a tear came out, "please… you need to… my mother…. I.. I think.. I think my fa.. father… kill… killed my mother."

Before Tara could finish what she was going to say, the phone stopped ringing; a shocked Willow rushed to the phone and picked it up. She started to dial the number that Colonel O'Neill had given her, the number to his private cell phone. She breathed a sigh of relief as the knocking started to get louder as she heard the call connect to the Colonel's number. Willow turned around as Tara stepped back from the door as her hands covered her face in utter shock.

Willow took the wireless phone and pressed it to her ears with her shoulders while, at the same time, she rushed to Tara and held on to her shoulder before pulling her away from the increasingly loud knocks on the door.

"Listen" said Willow loudly after she turned back to the door, "I don't know who you are, but I'm calling campus police. Tara doesn't want to see you,."

"Tara" said a female voice as Tara looked at Willow, "this is your Cousin Beth, please.. let us in. We're here to see you… we miss you so much."

"Willow" said Tara shaking her head as she sat down.

"O'Neill" said the Colonel as the call connected after his phone rang for a long time. Willow could tell that he had just woken up from the sound of his voice, but right now that really didn't matter.

"Colonel" said Willow as she alternated before looking at the door and then at Tara, "I'm in Tara's room at Stevenson Hall, and her father is outside knocking on the door."

"What?!" said the Colonel on the phone as Willow nearly jumped out of her skin, "stay in the room; call campus security. We'll be right there."

"Alright" said Willow as the call disconnected. She immediately called Campus security and told them about what was going on. While she was talking to security, Tara heard the door opposite her room open and the resident shouting at the Maclay family to keep quiet. While Willow was talking to Campus Security, Tara walked towards the door as she heard her brother arguing with her neighbour who also threatened to call the police if they didn't leave. She pressed her ear to the door as she heard Beth talking to the boy next door before she heard the sound of an electrical charge, followed by a thud. It was then that Tara stepped back in shock and backtracked to the bed. She knew that Beth carried with her a taser, as did Teddy, while Donnie always had a small weapon with him at all times. They could do anything.

"Look" said Willow as she talked to security while looking at Tara who turned towards the redhead and told her that they may be armed, "please, get someone here now. I think they could be armed."

Tara saw Willow put the phone down, after which she rushed towards Tara and held her hand as the both of them rushed into the restroom and locked the door behind them. Willow held the crying Tara as she looked at the restroom door, hoping that they'd be alright.. and hoping that she did the right thing.

"Shhhh" said Willow as Tara cried on her shoulder while she rubbed her back, "It's alright, Tara… shhh…."

"I'm sorry" said Tara as she shook her head on the redhead's shoulder, "I'm so sorry."

"You didn't do anything, baby" said Willow softly as Tara cried, "we're alright… we're safe."

The both of them locked themselves into the rest room for nearly five minutes before they heard an even louder pounding on the main door. Tara and Willow looked at each after not having heard the other previous knocks on the main door for the past three minutes or so. Willow looked around the rest room and grabbed Tara's curling iron and held it up like a club. She cautiously opened the door and walked out with Tara following close behind her as they approached the bed.

"Who… who… is it?" asked Tara nervously.

"Campus Security, ma'am" said a man's voice as Willow and Tara looked at each other and sat down on the bed in relief, "we're alright now."

 


	34. Chapter 34

**Stevenson Hall, U. , 0745 hours.**

Willow put down the curling iron on Tara's bed as the both of them listened to a second knock on the door as another person claiming to be a campus security officer knocked on the door. Willow told them to hold on for a second, and that she needed proof that they were who they said they were; so she asked them to slide their identification cards through the gap between the floor and the door. The two young women heard grumbling whole Willow helped a trembling Tara sit down on the floor before the blonde young woman pointed towards the floor behind Willow. Turning around, Willow saw the backs of two blue coloured plastic cards; after telling Tara to hold on for a few seconds, Willow walked over and picked up the cards. Turning them around, she looked at the cards. Nodding to herself that the cards seemed real, she rushed to the phone near Tara's bed and called the Campus Security department. She told them that after what just happened to them, she wanted to double check the officer's credentials. Once all the information of the card was verified, Willow walked over to the door as Tara wrapped herself in a blanket, and opened it.

The officers walked into the room and took a report from both Willow and Tara about what just happened. Tara told the officers that something may have happened to her neighbour across the hallway. She told them that she heard him telling her cousin Beth to keep it quiet, or else he'll call the police. The officer looked at each other before one of them ran off to get the resident assistant who lived on the first floor when Tara said that she heard an electrical discharge followed by a thud.

"I… I.. just want.. want to know if.. if.. he's alright" said Tara nervously as Willow sat next to her.

The officer nodded before he walked to the outside hallway and knocked on the door while his partner walked downstairs. After a few knocks, the officer turned around and asked Tara if she knew which way they went.

"No" said Tara shaking her head when she looked at the man who knocked on the door again. Then everything happened as if it was in slow-motion as Tara's neighbour's door opened from the side as Beth calmly activated her taser and pressed in into the side of the Security officer while Donnie punched his face. Tara and Willow screamed as the latter rushed towards the door to shut it but Teddy grabbed a hold of the door and pushed it open, making Willow take a few steps back. The redhead remembered what training Giles had given her before she left for Colorado, but before she could do anything… she felt herself being pushed onto the floor as Donnie lay on top of her and covered her mouth while she saw with teary eyes as Teddy grabbed Tara from the bed and forced her up.

"Take care of her" said Teddy as he looked at his son who was covering Willow's mouth before he pulled Tara away and walked out with Beth.

Willow heard Tara start to scream when everyone heard someone pounding on the walls before a voice told the lesbians next door to shut up.

"So" said Teddy as he stared at a struggling Willow, "my sister's a dyke? Never would have thought of that… many it has something to do with her demon magic. Anyway, who cares?"

Willow continued to struggle against Donnie who weighed much more than the redhead, and she could feel it since she was finding it hard to breathe. All she could continue to do was struggle when Donnie showed her a taser and activated it to her shock. She saw the electrical charge arc from one lead to another as Donnie grinned. Not wanting to be tasered, Willow finally managed to get her legs in between Donnie as she kneed him in his crotch.

"Bitch" said Donnie as he punch the redhead before he rolled off, and onto the carpeted floor as the other Security officer and the residence assistant came up to Tara's door and saw Donny moaning on the ground as he held both hands over his crotch. The resident assistant rushed up to Willow and helped her up as he grimaced at the bruise that was forming on the sides of her face.

"Your.. your friend is in the other room" said Willow as she held onto her face, "I don't know which way they went… they took Tara."

As the Officer and the Assistant opened the neighbour's door, Willow glared at Donnie before kicking him one more time on the crotch as he doubled up in pain. She then ran out the door as the Security officer looked at her leaving before he called after her.

"Damn it" he said as he ran after Willow as she ran through the other stairwell. Willow could hear the man calling through his radio, but she didn't care; they had taken Tara and she was getting her back, and she knew that she was being foolish… letting her emotion getting the better of her… but she didn't care. They had taken the person she loved by force against her will and Willow wanted to get her back. As she reached the third floor, Willow could hear Tara's voice telling her father that she wasn't going with him. Willow heard the door of the stairwell on the fourth floor closed and she knew that the other officer was running after her.

"Tara!" shouted Willow as she reached the second floor and she saw Tara trying to pull away from her father before he pulled his hand back and slapped her across the face, "Tara!"

"Come home, Tara" said Teddy as he pulled Tara off the ground while Beth held the exit door, that led out to the side of the dorm on the first floor, open.

"I am not going home!" shouted Tara as she pulled her hand free just as Willow ran past her and, using all the force the slim young woman could muster, shoved the man towards the side wall where he hit the side of his face. Willow then quickly turned around and grabbed Tara's hand before the both of them rushed past Teddy who was still dazed. Willow and Tara then ran down the stairs to the first floor since there was no way to get into the dorms proper from this particular stairwell. The doors that led into it from each floor opened only one way, leading to the emergency exit on the first floor. So Willow and Tara knew that the only way out was through Beth on the first floor.

"Girls" said the other officer as he came up to both Willow and Tara, "what the hell do you think…."

"My father orchestrated this whole thing" said Tara as she pointed at Teddy, "he wasn't supposed to know where I was, and… look…. They tried to take me against my will and…."

"Uncle Teddy?" said Beth as she ran up the flight of stairs and saw Willow, Tara and the officer standing over the dazed body of Teddy Maclay.

"Cousin Beth" said Tara, "please…"

"Put in down, sweetie" said the officer as he stood in front of Tara and Willow as he held his hands outstretched when Beth pointed a revolver at them.

"We just wanted to save people" said Beth as she pointed the weapon at the group, "Tara's a demon… she's a demon in human form that will end this world on her twentieth birthday. Only we can take care of her, only we can contain her powers… demonic powers."

"Sweetie" said the officer, "there are no such things as demons, look I;m sure that we can work this whole thing…."

Willow and Tara looked on horrified as the officer fell to the ground after a 'pop' sound rang out through the entire stairwell.

"You were in the way" said Beth as she held to the smoking weapon in one hand as she aimed it straight at Tara while she steadied herself by holding onto the metallic railing with the other hand.

"Beth?" said Teddy as he slowly regained his balance.

"Uncle Teddy" said Beth, "that man protected Tara, he protected that demon."

"So did the other girl" said Teddy as he pointed at Willow when everyone heard another door a few floors up slam shut.

"Red!" shouted Colonel O'Neill.

"Willow, Tara!" shouted Daniel as the both of them ran downstairs.

"He's got a gun!" shouted Willow as Tara and Willow took a few steps up as Beth smiled and kept on switching her aim between Willow and Tara.

"Red, Tara" shouted Colonel O'Neill as Willow looked up while Tara looked at Beth. Willow saw that the Colonel was on the third floor as he pointed his Zat gun through the vertical gap in the middle of the stairwell. The Colonel and Daniel saw Willow looking up at them before he told them to hug the wall.

Willow then saw the Colonel fired a Zat blast at Beth, while at the same time she pushed Tara against the wall just as there was another 'pop' sound. Tara saw a blue energy blast hit Beth after the 'pop' sound before she slumped down onto the stairs, she then felt warm liquid on her shirt and looked at Willow who had her mouth open.

"Willow?" asked Tara as the redhead looked down the left side of her body and saw a red spot that was spreading on her shirt, "Willow? Colonel! Daniel!"

"So that's what it's like being shot" said Willow as Tara slowly lay her down on the stairs with the redhead's head cradled on her arm, "just a shoulder wound… gives me some smoochie points later?"

"Uh huh" said Tara as she pressed her hand on Willow's wound as the Colonel and Daniel reached the two young women. Daniel took off his jacket and pressed it against Willow's wound, he then took Tara's bloody had and placed it on top of the jacket before telling her to apply pressure to it; all the while assuring Tara that Willow would be alright, that it was a shoulder wound. Daniel then turned around and watched at the Colonel felt for the security officer's pulse, and shook his head when there was none.

"How could you protect a demon?" said Teddy as he stood up, "how could you? Her entire life, and that of her mother, were full of sin… magic.. demonic magic that only serves to harm innocents…. Look at what she's responsible for!."

"Oh shut up" said the Colonel as he fired a Zat blast at Teddy before he slumped to the ground. Frowning at the man, the Colonel then turned around after holstering his Zat as he heard a door open upstairs.

"Colonel?" asked Major Carter, "are you here?"

"Carter" said Colonel O'Neill, "whatever you do, don't close the door… it's only a one way door. Get two ambulances here will you? And call the cops…."

"Yes, sir" said Major Carter as she looked down from the fourth floor, "Willow and Tara, sir?"

"Red's been shot" said the Colonel as he looked up and noticed the worried look on her face, "she's alive… don't worry, Carter. Now get to the other security officer we found and tell him that his partner died as a hero who helped protect two National Security Assets, and have that ambulance meet me up front, we need to get Red to a hospital now."

"On it, sir" said the Colonel as he and Teal'c went back onto the fourth floor where she called for two ambulances, before approaching the security officer's partner and telling the shocked man what happened.

IN the meantime, Colonel O'Neill took off his jacket and put it around Tara, before he put his arms underneath Willow and gently lifted her up.

"Colonel?" asked Willow as she smiled at the man.

"Yea?" asked the Colonel.

"I'm sleepy" said Willow as she closed her eyes.

"Sleep, kid" said the Colonel as he walked down to the first floor emergency exit door, followed closely by Daniel who held on to Tara as they walked down the stairs.

TBC.

 


	35. Chapter 35

**Sunnydale Memorial Hospital, 1130 hours.**

The two M.P's standing outside the doors of the secure wing of the Sunnydale Memorial Hospital had seen the people who killed their brothers-in-arms taken to the Army base under a full security detail at about eight that morning. It was about nine in the morning when they had seen Dr. Fraiser and Colonel O'Neill walk into the secure wing while Tara, Major Carter, Daniel and Teal'c followed the diminutive doctor as she pushed the bed carrying a sleeping Willow into the secure wing. The M.P's looked at each other before once of them looked through the small window on the door and saw Dr. Fraiser and the others push Willow's bed into Faith's room, while Major Carter talked to a surprised Joyce. They watched as Joyce stepped back and brought her hand over her mouth in shock as the Major told her what happened. The M.P's then looked at each other again and shrugged their shoulders before they went back to their duty of protecting the two young women who were in the rooms behind them.

While the M.P's were doing their jobs by keeping an eye out for any kind of threat, and by making sure that the only ones allowed in were on a list provided to them by Dr. Fraiser, they did not notice the young brown haired woman walking towards them in a silver and cream coloured dress. She stopped between the both of them and smiled, even though that they could not see her since she made herself imperceptible to everyone. But she couldn't stay too long as she started to hear grumbling from the Others.

Looking up, she could only frown before she told no-one in particular that she was just here to visit, that she wouldn't interfere.

"'Sides" said the young woman to herself when she looked back down at the doors, "the other Athena already interfered. And besides, the only to have some peppermint chocolate shake with hot dogs later is to gain physical form and eat… sheeesh."

The young woman glowed white as tendrils of white light travelled through the door and then coalesced again on the other side, reforming into the young woman again.

"Teleportation" said the woman as she walked to the door where Willow and Faith were being held, "can't beat that."

The young woman then teleported into the room as she walked towards Willow who was still sleeping on the hospital bed. She smiled at the redhead who was wearing a hospital issued gown under her bed sheets. The young woman then walked up to Willow's bed and looked at Tara who was sitting next to her, biting her nails nervously while looking worryingly at the redhead. The young woman then looked up and saw Faith, who was already sitting up as she turned her head and look at Willow, and then at Tara. The dark haired woman that the brown haired young woman knew was a Slayer told Tara that Willow was just sleeping off the painkillers that the surgeons had given her ; and that she'd awaken soon.

The brown haired woman then leaned over Willow, after Tara kissed Willow's forehead and walked towards Faith.

"You'll be alright, Athena" said the woman, "I can sense the mother of the Slayer coming back into this room. As are the rest of your friends. So I don't have much time. I just want you to know that I'm searching for the beast… she… it.. it's looking for something. Something very powerful. I know you do not remember, but mother and I have been able to look at what could be, I…. I've seen this world destroyed by this beast. I don't know if I can see you again, but… but…. be careful. Going through what these people call the Stargate will be dangerous, and… and… just be careful. I have always watched over you but now you have friends who can do that while I continue my search to find what that beast is looking for."

"Tara?" said Willow as the brown haired young woman saw the redhead move her head, "Tara?"

"Be safe" said the brown haired woman as she kissed Willow's forehead, "and goodbye."

"Goodbye" said Willow as Tara came up to her and looked at the redhead in confusion, while the brown haired woman looked at Willow with eyebrows furrowed.

"Willow?" said Tara, "why'd you say goodbye? I'm right here, so's Faith."

"Huh?" said Willow as she looked at Tara, and then at a grinning Faith who was waving her hand at the redhead, "hey, Faith."

"Red?" said Faith, "heard you got shot?"

"Yeah" said Willow before she turned to look at Tara, "I thought I heard you say goodbye."

"Huh?" replied Tara as she looked at Faith, and then at Willow again, "baby, I didn't say anything."

"Oh" said Willow as she tried to get up, but instead yelped in pain when she put pressure on her left shoulder. Winching in pain, Tara helped Willow lie back down on the bed as the redhead reached for her shoulder. She ran her fingers over the bandage on her shoulder, and flinched when she hit a sore spot. The redhead then looked back up at Tara, before snapping her head at the closed door, "did you guys see that?"

"See what?" asked Faith as she looked at the door, and then back at Willow and a confused Tara.

"I thought… no.. it was nothing" said Willow as she looked at the door again, 'I thought it was my light, the light that would watch over me whenever I was lonely… was it just here?'

"OK" said Faith as she watched Tara and Faith look at each other, "if you guys plan on getting it on right now… then just remember that I'm right here? I know getting injured by gunshot is cool and all, but come on… it's torture if I don't get to join in."

"Faith" said Tara as she and Willow looked at the dark haired Slayer, "we don't plan on doing that here."

"Hey" said Faith with her hands up as she grinned at the both of them, "like I said I don't mind if you start, but….."

"Ha.. ha.. ha" said Willow sarcastically as she grinned at Faith while Tara smirked,

"Thought I'd try" said Faith as the door to the room opened and Dr. Fraiser walked in with Joyce, and Colonel O'Neill.

"We can discuss it later" said Tara laughing as Willow looked at her girlfriend suspiciously while Faith gave the both of them two thumbs-up.

"Discuss what?" asked the Colonel as he looked at the three young women.

"Oh nothing" said Willow as she turned to the Colonel and smiled, "just discussing some… stuff….you know… girl stuff… such as…"

"I don't wanna know" groaned the Colonel as Dr. Fraiser and Joyce smiled at each other before looking at the Colonel, "I really don't wanna know."

**The Summers Residence, two days later; 1200 hours.**

It was two days since both Willow and Faith were discharged from the hospital; Faith having stayed an extra day due to her not wanting to leave Willow at the hospital by herself. After their discharge from the hospital, Joyce walked into the Summers home with Faith, who just looked around at the entrance as she remembered the last time she was here.

'Christmas' thought Faith to herself, 'it was nice actually, very nice.'

Joyce then took a hold of the surprised Slayer's hand and led her up to the stairs as Willow, and the other Scoobies walked into the home behind them. Xander was the last one in who closed the door behind him. They watched as Joyce and Faith reached the top of the stairs before making a right turn into towards two doors.

Faith walked next to Joyce as they came to a closed door where Buffy was standing next to while facing both Joyce and Faith.

"B" said Faith as she looked at Buffy.

"Faith" replied Buffy as she put her hand on the doorknob, "look, the both of us have done things to each other that's….."

"Cruel and stupid?" asked Faith with a smirk.

"Yea" replied Buffy, "and the both of us can't just wash those things of off us, but… I'd like to try and start something new. Better people, and better Slayers."

"Until you leave for the academy" said Faith as Buffy smiled.

"Yea" replied the blonde Slayer, "Slayers, emphasis on the 's'… at least I leave for the Academy. Then the title is yours."

"Sweet" said Faith as she rubbed her hands together, "and in the meantime we train together, slay together… find guys together."

"Faith" said Joyce as Faith and Buffy gave small smiles at Joyce. The older Summers woman then turned to Buffy and asked her to open the door to the room, "Faith, this is your room. I know it's not much now but…. we can spruce it up."

Buffy walked into the room, followed by Faith who saw a bed in the middle of the room against the far wall, a small desk, a small chest of drawers and an open closet on the other side of the wall. She walked into the room and slowly sat on the bed before quickly getting of it and turning around to look at the mattress.

"I know it's not much, Faith" said Joyce as the dark haired Slayer smiled, "it was all kind of last minute since we didn't exactly know when you'd wake up; and this was all I could get at the last minute. We could go shopping for some bed sheets, I mean… neither Buffy nor I, know what you like as far as colours go. Then I know you don't have clothes… or that you did but the hospital somehow managed to throw everything away since they figured you won't be waking up at all."

"Blue" said Faith softly as Joyce and Buffy looked at each other, "I like blue. You… you didn't have to do this, you know."

"Sorry, Faith" said Buffy as she stood next to her sister Slayer, "you're stuck with us now… so, yeah… there you go. You're getting blue sheets."

"I don't see it as being stuck, B" said Faith softly as Buffy saw the dark haired young woman look away and wipe her eyes, "it's just... I really don't know what to say?"

"Then how about some lunch, first?" asked Joyce, "We'll go out to the mall for some shopping and pizza? Colonel O'Neill and the others will be coming by for dinner before Willow has to leave with them tomorrow."

"Yea" said Faith softly as she walked past Buffy to the table, the same table that she had seen in her dream, "I'd like that."

Faith looked at the table as she imagine the books and the pictures she saw in her dream, the picture of her laughing with Willow and Buffy, the picture of her in a graduation gown as she stood next to Joyce who had her hand around her shoulder with a wide smile on her face.

"I want all of it" said Faith softly to herself as she recalled what her alternate said, to be better. She reached into her back pocket and took out the tablet. She placed it carefully on the table before brushing her fingers on the screen, "I'll make you proud."

"Faith?" asked Buffy as she and Joyce stood at the doorway to give her some privacy, "you alright?"

"Yea" said Faith as she turned around and smiled at the two Summer's women, "I think I'll be alright."

"Good" said Joyce as she nodded her head, "cause you have to some rules to follow, the same as Buffy."

"Awww" said Buffy and Faith together, "do we have to?"

"Yes" said Joyce with a grin as she turned around and headed to the stairs, "I'll put up the chores for the both of you."

"Heh" said Buffy as she looked at Faith, "I'm glad I don't live here."

"I heard that!" shouted Joyce as Buffy winched, "your chores will be for the weekend, when you come back for laundry and food."

"Mom!" shouted Buffy as she turned around and headed towards Joyce, but not before giving Faith a small smile as she walked out the door.

"Yeah" said Faith as she looked around the room and nodded her head, "I think I'll like this place."

**The Summers Residence; the next day, 1300 hours.**

Willow was standing at the bottom of the stairs with Tara, who had a handbag on her shoulder, while the other Scoobies were in the Kitchen putting away the dishes after their lunch. Also, they wanted to give Willow and the blonde witch some privacy while they were in the foyer talking.

"So" said Tara nervously as she and Willow sensed eyes on them before looking at the kitchen where Joyce and the other Scoobies suddenly looked away and tried to keep busy. Suppressing a laugh, both Willow and Tara ran up the stairs where they sat near the top, "so… when are they picking you up?"

"Fifteen minutes" said Willow as she smiled at the blonde and held her hand tightly, "I wish there was more; time between us, I mean."

"I'll think of you" said Tara as she noticed the brown coloured bandage whose outline could be seen through Willow's blue top, "and I'll see you again in a few months."

"Can't wait" said Willow as she kissed Tara's cheek, "come visit me after I'm done with the basic training?"

"Of course" replied Tara, "by the time you're done with that, I'll be in Colorado. And I can visit you every week as your really, really good friend of course; not your lesbian lover who has got to have fun every night."

"Nice one" laughed Willow as Faith interrupted them by shouting from the kitchen.

"Hey!" Faith said as Willow and Tara stifled their laughter, "go into details… we can hear you."

"God please no!" shouted both Joyce and Buffy.

"Yes, please!" shouted Anya and Xander as the two young women just laughed before shouting no, followed by sounds of Faith, Xander and Anya booing them.

"Now that's done" said Willow as she looked at Tara, "any news about your family?"

"The Colonel said he knows someone at the FBI" said Tara, "something about conspiracy to kidnap me across state line, or something similar."

"I can't believe they did that" said Willow as she caressed Tara's cheek, "and I can't believe you didn't tell me until last night, once everyone was asleep."

"I'm sorry" said Tara softly, "but I really thought you'd be afraid of wanting to be with me."

"Never" replied Willow as Tara smiled, "I'll never be afraid to be with you."

"I… I.." said Tara as she reached into her handbag and took out a small box, "I want you to have this."

"What is it?" asked Willow as she opened the top of the box and then looked up at the blonde with her eyes wide open, "this is a dolls-eye crystal, right? I've heard about it and… I mean it's used to focus magic. But Tara, I…."

"No" said Tara as she held on to the redhead's hand, "it used to be my grandmother's, I found it one day after she died.. she told me that it brings protection and good luck.. so…. Well… I want you to have it."

"Tara" replied Willow as she looked at the crystal that gave off a pink hue, "I cant keep this… this is a family heirloom."

"It's a gift to you" said Tara as she kissed her cheek, "please?"

"Alright" said Willow as she nodded her head after closing the top of the box, "how about you think were you wanna keep it when we move in together after graduation."

Tara looked at Willow surprised before the blonde woman asked her if she already thought that far into the future.

"Yea" said Willow, "after I graduate. I wanna move in with you."

"Cool" said Tara as the both of them kissed before they heard the familiar sound of a car coning up the driveway.

"In a few months, then?" asked Willow as she brushed Tara's cheek with her fingers.

"Yes" said Tara, "can't wait."

"Same here" replied the redhead as she smiled at Tara.

TBC.

 


	36. Chapter 36

**The Summers Residence, 1315 hours.**

Once he parked the car outside the Summers home, Colonel O'Neill and the rest of SG-1 filed out of the car and headed to the front door of Joyce's home. As he walked up the pathway leading to the porch, he came up to the door with Major Carter next to him as he knocked on it. With Teal'c and Daniel walking up behind them, they smiled as Joyce opened the door while Willow and Tara rushed down the stairs; stopping in front of them.

"Red" said the Colonel as SG-1 stepped in before Joyce closed the door behind them and stood next to Willow and Tara, "how's the shoulder?"

"Stings a bit" said Willow as she held on to the box containing the Dolls-Eye crystal that Tara just gave her, "but I've never been shot so I can't say if it's till supposed to sting or…. Yeah."

"Don't worry" said the Colonel waving his hands at Daniel, "Danny get's shot all the time."

"I do not" said Daniel as he looked at the Colonel while Teal'c looked at Tara who was smiling at Willow.

"Tara Maclay" said Teal'c as Tara looked at the Jaffa while Xander, Anya and the others came up to the living room where all of them had moved, "are you well?"

"Ye.. yes" said Tara nodding her head, "I'm… I'm transferring to the University of Colorado at the end of this semester; this… this city has some bad memories.. es.. especially with… you know.. my dad.. and family."

"Actually" said Daniel as he nodded at Colonel O'Neill before walking towards Tara and holding to her arm gently, "do you mind if I talk to you in private?"

"Umm…." Said Tara as she looked at Daniel, and then at the smile on Major Carter's face before turning to look at Daniel again; and nodding her head.

"You can make your way to the backyard if you want some privacy" said Joyce as she motioned towards the back door in the kitchen, "there shouldn't be anyone there right now."

"Thank you, Mrs. Summers" said Daniel before he smiled at Tara as he nodded his head towards the backyard. The both of them walked out of the living room, and then into the sitting room before heading into the kitchen and out the door. After the door leading outside shut, the Colonel looked back to Willow and smiled.

"Red" said the Colonel as Buffy walked up to the redhead and stood right behind her, "we'll do something about that injury when we get back, and then Carter, Teal'c and I will start on the tough training. You ready?"

"Yep" said Willow nodding her head as her eyes opened wide, "I'm ready."

"Buffy, Faith, Mr. Harris, Miss Jenkins" said the Colonel as he looked at the others, "there'll be someone from the Marine Corps coming later this week to start basic training with you guys and…"

The Colonel watched as Xander raised his hand and called out to the Colonel before asking if he really had to train.

"If you wanna join Faith and Buffy in fighting every night?" said the Colonel, "then yeah; at least that's what we would prefer. I know that Mr. Giles has been training Buffy to fight these things, and from what I've been told; Faith, Miss Jenkins and you haven't had much formal training in unarmed and armed combat. That's what we'll be offering you guys; tactical training, non-lethal weapons training and anything else that will eventually be conducted in conjunction with input from Mr. Giles."

"So far we've been lucky, Xander" said Giles as he took off his glasses and wiped them, "Buffy and Faith have the power of the Slayer; you don't. Which is why I too would prefer you took up this option… I haven't been able to train you and Anya, and that's been a mistake on my part. But now it's changed since there will be trainers coming to help, and it's useful to absorb whatever you learn from them. It could save your lives if Faith's not around. Or if she's in another part of the city, while you're needed in another area."

"From what Mr. Giles has told us, Miss Jenkins has extensive knowledge about demons and such" said Major Carter, "and that skill, plus building up on her combat training would be extremely useful as well."

"See" said Anya as she grinned at Giles who gave her a small smile, "I can be useful."

"Never said you weren't" replied Giles, "and… since Spike has been unable to harm humans with the chip going off…"

"Spike?" asked Faith as she looked at Buffy.

"Yea" said the blonde Slayer, "we really need to talk about him; I don't like it, trust me I don't.. that ass tried to kill me many times over but the Initiative did something to him."

"From the files we received from the Pentagon" said Major Carter as Faith looked at her, "he was subjected to behaviour modification experimentation using a chip that would give him a shock should he attack any human beings."

"Oh" said Faith as she rubbed her hands together in glee while Willow just smiled, "I get to beat him up then?"

"No" said Giles as Faith tuned back to look at the watcher with an eyebrow raised, "I mean not unless he's done something to deserve it; but the vampire that Spike is right now is like a neutered animal."

"I would have gone for flaccid" said Buffy as she shrugged her shoulders, "but that's just me."

"With this Spike being an unknown to us" said the Colonel, "the General has agreed that the chip remain, at least until this Spike has proved that he can be trusted."

"Then I'm guessing that's a never, then?" asked Faith as she smirked at Buffy who shrugged her shoulders.

"As for the Council" said the Colonel as Giles looked up at the man, "the Prime Minister has already talked to the President, who in turn has talked to General Hammond. They would like to see Mr. Giles in two weeks."

"Who would now?" asked Giles surprised as he stood up since he's just heard of this development. He looked at the smiles on Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill's faces as they told him that the American President, the British Prime Minister and General Hammond would like to talk to him about setting up a new organization that would complement the Watchers Council, which would be taking a backseat role in training Slayers.

"Oh" said Giles as Buffy and the others looked back at him with smiles on their faces, "umm…. Oh… my dear lord…. Ummmm…"

"I think you broke Giles" said Willow as she looked at the Englishman stumble over what he wanted to say.

"Umm…" said Giles again before shaking his head, "I…. I… I… I think I need to buy a new suit."

**Summers Residence, backyard, at that same time.**

While the others were talking in the living room, both Daniel and Tara walked out to the backyard. After they made their way down the stairs and onto the grass, the two of them took a seat on two lawn chairs. Making themselves comfortable, it was Daniel who turned to Tara and asked her if everything was really alright with her.

"My… my family tried to take me away" said Tara softly, "they.. they found me and… and tried to take me away."

"Tara" said Daniel as he took a hand of hers in his and squeezed gently, "it wasn't the police that told them about your location; Jack's buddy from the FBI already made sure of that. So you can be sure that they didn't betray your confidence, but that doesn't mean that we'll stop looking."

"Thank you" said Tara as she nodded her head and looked at the archaeologist, before looking back at the house behind her, "she didn't tell me off. Didn't say that she'll leave me because I may have other family out there whose just as 'religious' as my dad, brother and cousin. She wants to stay with me despite all the craziness that happened."

"She would, wouldn't she?" asked Daniel as he smiled at Tara who had looked back at him and nodded her head.

"Yes" said Tara, "she said she wants to move in with me after she graduates from the Academy, and…. and so do I."

"Which is why I'm here talking to you alone" said Daniel, "like I said, Teal'c and I know about the both of you."

'Yes" said Tara nodding her head.

"And with Jack and Sam still in the dark about the both of you" said Daniel as Tara interrupted him.

"They still don't know?" asked Tara as she looked back in the house.

"Nope" replied Daniel shaking his head, "no idea; or if they have an idea, they're not giving it away."

"Oh" replied Tara surprised.

"Anyway, as I was saying" said Daniel, "with the both of them being, what I hope, in the dark about the both of you… how would you like to join the SGC as my research assistant? I know it's not Art History or anything… although we do have a lot of artifacts that could be considered art and… Anyway, I digress. Willow will be spending the next two months at the SGC training for her Basic Training at the Academy. And while this position does mean that you'll be in the same place as Willow, I mean you'll get to see her… talk to her… everything except for, well…. you know what I mean."

"Yes" smiled Tara as she blushed and looked at the ground.

"But there will be a lot of work for you too" said Daniel as Tara nodded her head, "paid work of course, I've already talked to Jack about it and he cleared it with General Hammond. Then when you start classes at the university, we'll take care of your tuition as long as you come to work with us at the SGC. You'll be like me, a civilian contractor. Even go through the Stargate, but only if you want. And in the meantime, Sam would like to train you in basic self-defence; but then, if you decide you want to go through the Gate… then you'll be trained in the whole shebang from hand-to-hand combat to firing a weapon."

"The same training you have to go through?" asked Tara nervously as Daniel nodded his head.

"Yep" replied the archaeologist, "still have to train everyday, but it's worth it. But if you just want to stay on base, then you'll be trained in basic self-defence. Either way, it'll be useful."

"Doe.. does Willow know about this?" asked Tara.

"Not yet" said Daniel, "unless you tell her that you want to go with us today; or if you don't feel comfortable in going right now, and want to keep your plan of leaving in a few months.. then she doesn't need to know. It's up to you. And you won't be hurting our feelings if you say 'no' nor will Teal'c and I think badly of you if you don't want to leave today. I know it's last minute but we just got approval from General Hammond."

"Oh" said Tara with a smile, "I have to… I mean I have to cancel all my classes… and pack.. and…"

"Teal'c and I will leave together with you if you decide to go to Colorado Springs" said Daniel as he squeezed her hand, "Sam and Jack can leave with Willow today, and we can leave in two days since the University is closed today. Besides, Teal'c will be excited to stay for a few days… he said something about wanting to spar with Buffy and Faith."

Tara could just smile at Daniel before she nodded her head. She then told him that she'd love to go to Colorado Springs to be close to Willow and thanked him for the offer to work at the SGC, and for the self-defence training. Tara then told Daniel that she was thinking about changing her major to anthropology, and hoped that the offer to work for him wasn't dependent on her working on a Art History degree.

"Nope" said Daniel with a grin, "I know the head of that department; I'll introduce you to him when we get back to Colorado Springs."

"Thank you" said Tara as she nodded her head excitedly.

"So" said Daniel as Tara looked at him with a smile, "I take that as a yes?"

"Yes" said Tara as she nodded her head excitedly before she stopped when she came to a realization, "umm….. wehre will I stay?"

"You will have quarters on base" said Daniel, "especially since you'll be working as my assistant, while Willow will be living in the Academy dorms. You'll have your choice of staying with Jack, Sam or me… so that's up to you. Or if you want, you can stay with Janet. She's got a daughter who's younger than you; or you could stay on base like Teal'c. He stays up at the SGC since he doesn't have clearance to stay in the city."

"Oh" said a surprised Tara, "so he doesn't go out much?"

"When we go in a group" said Daniel, "he's not allowed to go leave by himself.. at least not yet, anyway."

"Oh" said Tara.

"How about we tell the others first about your decision?" asked Daniel.

"Yes" replied Tara as the both of them got up. They then walked back up the stairs to the rear door. Walking into the house, the both of them heard the others making fun of Giles, with Faith being the loudest of them all with her laugh. Once Tara and Daniel entered the room though, everyone looked at the both of them as Daniel said that Tara had an announcement to make.

"Tara?" asked Willow confused as the blonde witch smiled at her, and then at the other Scoobies, including Faith. She then told them about Daniel's offer and she could see Willow's aura brighten in excitement despite her being perfectly calm about it; then after she was done, everyone remained quiet before Faith walked towards her and wished her all the best.

"Thank you" said the dark haired Slayer as she hugged the witch while she whispered in her ear, "you saved my life back in the hospital. I'm sorry I couldn't help you and Red when your family was here."

"It's alright" said Tara, "I'm happy that you're safe. And it's alright about my family, everything turned out alright."

"Tara" said Willow, "are you leaving with us?"

"No" she replied, "I've got to get some stuff done… cancel my classes, pack… and.. well, Daniel said that he and Teal'c will accompany me to Colorado Springs."

"Neat" said Buffy and Willow together.

Just then, Teal'c approached Buffy and Faith and asked them if they would like to join him for a sparring session later that day.

"It would be the first day of your training" said Teal'c before he looked at Giles, "if Rupert Giles does not consider it an imposition."

"No" replied Giles as he shook his head, "in fact, I would like to see the training methods that the Jaffa use."

"Very well" said Teal'c as he bowed his head.

"All of that can be done later" said the Colonel as he rubbed his hands together before looking at Willow, "Red, Dr. Fraiser will be meeting us at the Army base… we'll be taking a ride with the Special Operations team who'll be offloaded to another facility before we make our way to Colorado Springs."

"Alright" said Willow as she nodded her head while standing next to Tara.

"While these guys are training" said Xander as he looked at Tara with a smile, "I'll help you pack, as will Anya."

"Alright" said Tara smiling, "thanks."

"Then in a year" said Major Carter, "they'll be joined by Buffy."

"Yes" said Joyce as she stood next to Buffy and put her arm around the younger blonde's shoulder, "by then, Faith would have taken over… and she'd be in college."

"Who me?" asked Faith as she pointed at herself before she gave a huge grin and shrugged her shoulders, "I was thinking about that actually; had a dream while I was in a coma and… well… let's just say that I think I'll be working towards that too."

"Really?" asked Buffy with an eyebrow raised.

"Uh huh" said Faith.

"Ok" said the Colonel as he looked at his watch, "now that we've decided what we wanna do for the rest of our futures, we should really get going. Red? Ready to go?"

"Yea" said Willow as she smiled at Tara before giving her a hug, and whispering in her ear that she loved her, "can't wait for you."

"I'll be there" said Tara softly before she let go and Willow gave hugs to everyone else; with the tightest hug reserved for Xander.

"Take care of yourself, Will" said the dark haired young man, "see you after your Basic?"

"Yea" replied Willow as she let go off Xander before Anya came up to her and gave the redhead a hug.

"Thanks, Anya" said Willow, "thanks for encouraging me to go for the Academy, and… and look after Xander will you?"

"Yes" said Anya as she nodded her head.

Willow said goodbye to everyone else before she, Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter left the Summers home and went into the car parked in the driveway. Closing the door after they drove off, Daniel approached Joyce telling her that he had an urgent question.

"Now that Janet's gone" said Daniel, "and Jack's gone too…. Would you happen to have any of that cake Willow said you're so famous for baking?"

"Yes" said Joyce, "we still have half the cake left."

"Neat" said Daniel as he looked at Teal'c who nodded his head.

"I would prefer a slice as well, Joyce Summers"

"Come on" said Joyce as she motioned everyone to follow her into the kitchen, "just don't tell Dr. Fraiser?"

"Yea, never telling her" said Daniel, "she may be short… but she's deadly."

"Indeed" replied Teal'c as everyone smiled.

TBC.

 


	37. Chapter 37

**The Summers Residence, a few hours later; 1500 hours.**

Tara sat alone on the steps that led to the grass in the backyard with a cup of pop in one hand as she just looked out into the distance. It had been hours since she received a call from Willow to tell her, in reality to tell her friends, that she had reached Colorado Spring safely. As Tara took a sip of her drink, she thought back to Willow telling her that there was a way for Major Carter to heal her wound, that there was a piece of technology that could help. She smiled as she heard Willow's excited voice as they travelled to the SGC via a jeep that picked them up from Peterson Air Force base.

Now, Tara just wanted to sit on the stairs by herself. Looking to a window that led to the basement, she could hear sounds of wood smashing against each other as Teal'c sparred with both Buffy and Faith at the same time. She smiled when Giles told them to not use their full strength against the Jaffa, and the a few minutes later she heard a loud smash from the basement as she looked back into the house and saw Anya, along with Daniel and Joyce, running down the stairs as Giles said something to Buffy while she apologized profusely. The blonde witch heard Faith asking the Jaffa if he was alright, and Tara guessed that he must have been hit hard.

She then heard Daniel asking Teal'c if he was alright, and that all Teal'c had said in response was that yes he was alright and that his symbiote would help heal him. Tara also heard him say that while Buffy was trained well, she still had a lot of work to do and offered to work with Giles to get started on a training schedule. Tara heard Giles say that it would be a good idea before Faith said that it was her turn.

It was then that Tara heard the door behind her open; looking over her shoulder, Tara smiled as she say Xander walking towards her before he sat down next to her and nudged her arm with his elbow.

"Hey stranger" said Xander, "whatcha' doing?"

"Nothing" said Tara, "was just listening to what's going on in the basement.

It was then that both Tara and Xander winced when they heard another loud smash as Giles shouted at Faith this time while the dark haired Slayer apologized to Teal'c, who had the same thing to say to Faith that he had said earlier to Buffy.

"Poor guy" said Xander, "Slayer at full power… not fun."

"I bet" said Tara as she looked at the shadows through the windows before looking back at Xander, "I… I… I know that you and Willow are the closest of friends, so I'm sorry about what happened with me and my family today. She was put in danger and…"

"It's alright, Tara" said Xander as he raised his can of pop at the blonde witch, "our lives have been in danger ever since we joined Buffy in defeating the hordes of the darkness."

"You've been waiting a long time to say that, haven't you?" asked Tara with an eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face.

"Uh huh" said Xander as he nodded his head excitedly, "look, I know that things between you and the rest of us didn't start great.. I mean.. we were surprised and all that Willow had a girlfriend, and since we were too fixated on her leaving us for the Air Force academy and, well… just know that we're really sorry."

"No need to apologize" said Tara as she turned back to the window when she heard Giles shout at both Buffy and Faith, "those two are going to be quite the handful."

"Oh yeah" said Xander nodding his head, "Faith more than Buffy though, she's… well, she's a handful.. let's put it that way."

"She still saved my life" said Tara as she looked at the window, "when it mattered she saved me from that 'doctor' when he tried to strangle me."

"I known her for some time" replied Xander as Tara turned back to face him, "it'll take some getting used to having her constantly around, and definitely some time for trust to build. For you and Anya, it would be easier since you don't know what she was like. Giles is a Watcher so he feels it's his responsibility to train Faith. I guess he feels as if he failed her since he was, rightly, concentrating on Buffy. It's the trust between Buffy and Faith that will take the longest time to repair. Faith did a lot more to Buffy than Buffy did to her."

"I don't know the old Faith" said Tara as she nodded her head before looking at the window that led to the basement, "but this one, this Faith is different. She just needs to be given a chance, Xander."

"That'll take time too" he replied, "a long time."

"She saw a dream that you guys were fighting together" said Tara as Xander nodded his head, "maybe it's a dream of things to come. She'll guard the Hellmouth while Buffy's away because I can sense that it's something she wants."

"Hope so" said Xander as he got up from sitting on the stairs and straightened his jeans, "you coming back in?"

"Yea" replied Tara as Xander reached out with his hand as Tara grabbed it. The dark haired young man then pulled Tara up to her feet before they walked back into the house.

**Infirmary, SGC, at that same time.**

The SGC was the first stop that Willow, Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Fraiser and Major Carter made once they returned to Colorado Springs. As they headed down to the infirmary level, the three women left the elevator while the Colonel remained inside to go down to the twenty seventh floor so that he could report what happened to General Hammond. Once they reached the infirmary after a quiet walk down the hallways, the doctor asked Willow to hop onto on of the beds so that she can get her prepared for the treatment.

"What treatment?" asked Willow as she watched Dr. Frasier close the curtain around her just as she saw a tall man with sandy blonde hair walking into the infirmary while holding his side.

"Nurse!" shouted Dr. Fraiser to a nurse at the far corner of the room as she motioned towards the man, "get Siler to one of the beds will you? And get a scanner?"

"Yes, ma'am" said the Nurse as he helped Siler get onto one of the empty beds as Dr. Fraiser closed the curtain fully. She then turned around to face Willow and asked the redhead to pull down her top so that she could take off the bandage.

"Take it off?" asked Willow confused as she pulled down one side to expose her shoulder and the bandage while she heard footsteps coming into the infirmary from the other side of the curtain.

"Siler" said Major Carter's voice as Willow smiled, "fell?"

"Yes, ma'am" said Siler.

"I have the healing device with me so let me heal up Willow and then, if Dr. Fraiser approves, I'll heal you up" said the Major as she reach the curtain.

"It's alright, ma'am" said Siler nodding his head, "we heard what happened to Miss Rosenberg, so please take care of her first. And ma'am, with all due respect, you do get tired after you use the device so it's alright… I can heal the usual way."

"If I'm not tired then" said the Major as Siler nodded his head before the blonde woman opened the curtain and slipped into the other side, before closing it again behind her. She walked around the bed and faced a surprised Willow before she placed the metal case she was holding on the bed itself."

"People know I was shot?" asked Willow.

"Oh yeah" said Major Carter, "the grapevine is full of information… trust me. You do not want to be on it…."

"Come on, Sam" said Dr. Fraiser as she looked at Willow, "most of it is just interesting information."

"Yea" said the Major as she looked at Willow, "apparently there's a rumour that I don't sleep… at all."

"That's not a rumour" said Dr. Fraiser as she smiled at Willow before turning to face the Major, "alright… fine… maybe it's not true but sleeping for only two hours at a time a few weeks ago means…"

"Aha" said the Major as Willow smiled, "I do sleep."

"Not the point" said Dr. Fraiser as the Major opened the cover on the case and reached in. Willow her take out a strange device that was gold in colour with a red crystal like substance on one side, while she slid her hand through a part on the other side.

"What's that?" asked Willow.

"A Goa'uld healing device" said the Major as she stood next to the doctor, who slowly took off the bandage, "it's a technology we acquired from a planet called Cimmeria."

"Oh" replied Willow as Dr. Fraiser stepped back while the Major stepped forward and aimed the device close to Willow's shoulder. The younger redhead saw the Major close her eyes and concentrate intensely as the red crystal glowed and the device made a humming sound. Willow looked back at her shoulder in surprise as the wound healed and the sting she kept on feeling went away. She looked on as the Major started to sweat just as the crystal stopped glowing and she put her hands down with a smile at Willow.

"Sam?" asked Dr. Fraiser, "you alright?"

"Yeah" said the Major as she turned around and opened the curtain before heading towards Siler's bed. Dr. Fraiser closed the curtain once again and turned back to Willow who already had her shoulder covered again, but not before brushing her fingers over the area where she was injured.

"Wow" said Willow as she looked at Dr. Frasier just as they heard the humming sound again, "that's amazing… I mean the same thing can be done with magic and all, but Wow… how did that thing work? I mean has anyone examined it and…"

"Easy" said the Doctor as she put her hand on Willow's shoulder, "people have already examined it, and they haven't figured out how it works either."

"But…. but it needs someone with Naquada in their bloodstream to work" said the Major as she walked back in with her face covered in sweat as she slipped the device off her hand, and put it back in the metal case.

"Sam?" asked Dr. Frasier.

"Siler's injury was a bit much" said Major Carter, "you should go check him out."

"Yeah" said Dr. Fraiser as she looked at Willow and asked her if she felt anymore pain in her arm. The doctor smiled when Willow moved her arm with not pain before she opened the curtain and went to check up on Siler.

It was after the curtain was closed that Willow turned back to Major Carter and asked her how it was that she had Naquada in her system. She then told her about she had a symbiote, which was when she saw the younger redhead's confused look that the Major explained to her about the Tok'ra and her blending with Jolinar.

"So she died to save my life" said the Major as Willow listened, "but her sacrifice gave me the naquada in my blood, and her memories."

"Her memories?" asked Willow as the Major nodded her head.

"Yep" she replied, "that's how we met the Tok'ra the first time."

"Oh" said Willow nodding her head, "so Tok'ra good, Goa'uld bad?"

"Not always, sometime their both pains in the… posterior" replied Colonel O'Neill who had just walked into the room from the other door and nodded at Dr. Fraiser who was running a portable scanner over Siler. He then stopped outside the curtain, "are you decent, Red?"

"Yep" said Willow as the Major closed the cover of the metal case just as the Colonel opened the curtain and stepped towards Willow and the blonde woman.

"How ya felling?" asked Colonel O'Neill.

"Arm doesn't hurt anymore" said Willow with a smile as she sung her arm all over the place.

"Good" said the Colonel as he nodded at Willow, "come on, you've got some homework to do."

"Homework?" asked Willow as she looked at a confused Major Carter.

"Oh yea" replied the Colonel, "General Hammond wants you to go through some of our first mission reports, and then… if you're up to it, sine your arm is feeling all better… maybe Carter can start showing you some of the projects she's got going on?"

"Willow?" asked the Major as she watched the redhead nodding her head excitedly, "I'm working on a new project based off technology from a race called the Orban; a Naquada reactor."

"Yes, please" said Willow excitedly as the Colonel rolled his eyes.

"And then we start the hard work tomorrow" said the Colonel, "we'll start off easy for the first few days, but…"

"I'm ready" said Willow.

"You sure?" replied Major Carter.

"Oh yea" said Willow, "I think… yeah, I'm ready."

TBC.

 


	38. Chapter 38

**The Gym, SGC, three days later; 0700 hours.**

Willow walked down to the gym on the twenty third floor of the SGC where she swiped her guest card over a panel before stepping back as the blast door opened. Although not part of any team since her tenure at the Air Force academy hadn't been finished, she didn't even start it, she was given permission by General Hammond thanks to Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter to train and work on base. The last two days were full of scheduled training sessions with Colonel O'Neill as he helped in weapons training, along with Colonel Reynolds from SG-2. Major Carter was in-charge of the unarmed combat training and she started off easy with Willow who, despite all the training that Giles had given her, found that her techniques were still lacking in certain areas.

"It's alright" said the Major the previous day as she helped Willow stand up from the matted floor, "Mr. Giles still taught you well. But you've already learnt how to block that last attack before I turned it around on you unexpectedly, so you always need to think about your opponent's next attack."

Willow nodded her head as she took a step back and put up her hand in front of her, "Ready."

Today, as Willow entered the room, she looked at the mat from yesterday and smiled when she recalled getting a hit onto the Major before she tried to use the same move again. That time Willow was ready, and she was ready for the next move as Willow blocked her punch before stepping forward and pushing her back. Once the Major was unsteady on her feet, Willow grabbed her shoulder and used her leg to knock the Major off her feet. It was a few seconds later that she was flat on her back grinning at Willow who was breathing hard.

"See" said the Major as Willow helped her stand up, "always be prepared. You learn things fast, so I've got no doubt you'll improve even more."

Willow set up the mat before starting on her warm-up. Ever since she arrived at the SGC from Sunnydale, she was living in her quarters. She was working with Major Carter, and learning about the brand new naquada reactor technology. The Major told her that the technology was still new to them so the both of them would be learning the full range of what could be done with the reactors together. Then when Willow wasn't training, or working with Major Carter, the redhead would be reading SG-1's mission reports until late at night which enabled the need to sleep in at her quarters at the SGC.

The Major didn't mind that Willow slept on base since she was guilty of doing the exact same thing as well since she'd spend long hours until late at night working on the naquada rector before catching some sleep in her own quarters on base.

As Willow got down onto her mat to start some push-up's, she smiled at herself that she didn't give in to the temptation to magically absorb the knowledge that was in the reports when she first saw the huge pile that was kept in her quarters on her first day back from Sunnydale, the day she had her shoulder wound healed. Instead, the redhead sat down on the bed and read transfixed on the words of what happened during the very first mission to Abydos.

Back in the present, Willow got into position before she placed he arms as she was told to by Giles when he was training her. By the time she had seen her doppelganger at Buffy's house, the redhead could already complete ten without panting and then collapsing onto the floor outside Giles' apartment. She resolved to improve on that number, especially since Major Carter told her what she's have to do during the basic training portion of her tenure at the Academy.

"Thirty" mumbled Willow to herself as she completed the first push-up, 'that's my goal for today. Thirty, and then increase it; and then more after that."

Willow slowly went down again and pushed herself up before continuing the motions fifteen more times before she started panting and sweat beaded down her forehead before it hit the mat below. The redhead felt her arms and shoulder burn as she went down for the twentieth time and she clenched her teeth as she pushed up again back to her original positing before putting her knees on the mat and lying on her back breathing hard while her arms were sprawled by her sides.

She closed her eyes before she sat up and recalled that both the Colonel and the Major told her that she'd have to do at least fifteen push-ups under a minute upon entry, and then thirty sit-ups, followed by a one and a half mile run in under sixteen minutes. The Colonel already told her that he, and the Major, will make sure she exceeds all the requirements by the time she graduates.

As Willow slowly got up, she saw Major Carter walk into the gym in an Air Force T-Shirt and sweat pants before asking Willow if she was alright. Nodding her head, Willow just told the blonde woman that she was just slightly out of breath, but she was eager to continue.

"Good" said the Major as she started her warm-up, "we'll go up to the surface for a ten minute run. I know it may be a bit much to ask; I mean I know that Mr. Giles said he gave you some training.. but think of this as the start of our evaluation until you start the Academy in two months."

"Alright" said Willow.

"We'll time everything" said the Major as she showed Willow her watch, "starting with the run. We'll do it at a slow pace in the beginning, but if you feel tired, then just jog. But if it gets too tiring.. don't force yourself."

"But…" said Willow as the Major interrupted her.

"Don't force yourself, Willow" said the Major, "we'll take it slow for the first week; and then we'll see what you need to improve on. We'll continue from there. And when we get back after the run, we'll continue with the sit-ups and push-ups. This will be the first thing you'll be doing for at least five days a week, then later today you have weapons training with Colonel O'Neill, and Colonel Reynolds. The Colonel wants you to do armed and unarmed combat on alternate days to start off, so today it'll be armed combat… and tomorrow, unarmed when Teal'c comes back from Sunnydale. Then we'll have some lunch before we go to work on the naquada reactors. Oh, and the General wants you to continue with reading the mission reports"

"OK" said Willow as she nodded her head, "I can't believe the missions you guys went on. Its like reading a science fiction story with alien parasites, alien planets, ships and whatnot… except it's all real."

"Believe me when I say that I was jealous the first time the Colonel and Daniel, along with their team, went over to Abydos" said the Major as she finished some jumping jacks, "but when I found out I was assigned to the SGC after we had Apophis come through the Stargate and kill some of our people, I realized that I'll be going through the Gate. And that excited me, but also terrified me on some level now that I think back on it."

"Sounds like the first time I met Buffy" said Willow as she looked at the Major doing her warm-up, "she was the new girl in school, and I was the mouse… you know… the nerd who everyone made fun off."

'Yea" said the Major, "I know the feeling."

"Then Xander and I met Buffy and Giles" said Willow as she leaned back with her hands on either side propping her up from behind, "and then Xander and I learned she's the Slayer, and then…. A world of something you thought existed only in your nightmares."

"You'd think it would be easy for me to say that vampires, magic, and all that stuff exists" said the Major, "and at first I'd say that it doesn't. But after reading the Initiative files…. Let's just say that perspectives change. Though to be honest with you, I'm still iffy on magic."

"I was tempted" said Willow as the Major looked at her confused, "I could have used magic to absorb everything that was in the reports, but I stopped myself."

"Good" said the Major as she smiled at the redhead, "I'm guessing you haven't read the report on the Orbanians?"

"The race that created the naquada reactors, right?" asked Willow, "I mean the same technology you're basing the Earth naquada reactor's off?"

"Uh huh" said the Major as she walked over to Willow and pulled her up, "their people would inject nanites into the bloodstream of their children at infancy."

"What?" asked a shocked Willow, "why?"

"The nanites in the children, the Urrone, learn from the child learns" said the Major, "for example, there was a boy in Orban who was talking to Teal'c about the Goa'uld. He told him everything, impressed that a child was so eager to learn about the Goa'uld; but what he didn't know was that the Orbanians later harvested those nanites and gave each adult Orbanian a nanite with that information."

"It was their way of learning" said Willow as the Major nodded her head, "what happened to the children?"

"They reverted to an infant state" said the Major, "they were well taken care of and treated as heroes for their sacrifice. Colonel O'Neill took offence at that. Don't get me wrong, we were all sick but we also had to think about the impact we'll have if we interfered. The fact was that this was the only way they could learn, it was a tradition that was built deep into their psyche."

"You said 'was'" said Willow, "past tense. That means something changed."

"The girl who came to show me how to build the reactor" said the Major, "her name is Merrin, and after she was done here… she went back to have her nanites extracted."

"Oh" said Willow.

"Something changed after her nanites were taken out" said the Major as she gave a small smile, 'the Colonel took her out for some.. fun. Took her to a school where he does some volunteer work when he can and placed her in an art class. Merrin saw what it was like for someone to teach her how to draw, she saw kids having fun… learning in a way that she and her people hadn't used for thousands of years. So when she had to go back…"

"The nanites" said Willow as she opened her eyes wide, "they changed the people, didn't they?"

"A few days later" said the Major, "we were asked to return to Orban where we saw the children and the adults having fun. Some were playing old kids games while others were drawing on the walls. The adults told us that they were excited about teaching the Urrone, who had their nanites extracted, using the ways that Merrin had taught them."

"So what happens now?" asked Willow, "I mean, are they still injecting nanites into the Urrones?"

"I think they'll be slowly weaning off that need" said the Major, "you cant expect a people to change something they've been doing for the thousands of years just like that. At least they'll be teaching the Urrone's who've had their nanites removed so that they can become a part of their society again. Eventually, maybe they'll get off using nanites to learn…. But that could be a long time coming."

"But then" said Willow as the both of them walked out of the gym and headed to one of the elevators, "is it the nanites learning? Or is it the human?"

"What do you think?" asked the Major, "the nanites transfer their information to the brain, and without the nanites… do you think they could learn?"

"Given time" said Willow as she nodded her head, "but kinda takes the fun out of it, don't you think?"

"True" said the Major as she looked at the redhead, "now replace the nanites with using magic to learn."

"Ah" said the redhead with a smile, "takes the fun out of learning either way."

"That's what I think" said the Major, "and that's what I told Merrin when she offered to show me how the reactor works. But I insisted on find out for myself, learning as I went along."

"And as you made mistakes" said Willow as she elevator continued up.

"Yep" said the Major, "I'm happy you didn't use it, I really am."

"Thanks" said Willow as the elevator door opened on the tenth floor and they walked out into the hallway before heading for the one that would take them to the surface, "when's Daniel and Teal'c coming in with Tara?"

"About nine tonight" said the Major, "heard Tara agreed to stay with Dr. Fraiser?"

"Yep" replied Willow.

"The Colonel said that tonight will be barbeque night at his place" said the Major, "Dr. Fraiser, Cassie and Tara will be coming too.. as are Daniel and Teal'c. It's kind of like one of our scheduled team nights."

"Thanks for letting me and Tara take part" said Willow.

"The more the merrier" said the Major as they reached the lobby and walked out of the elevator, and into the parking lot, "ready?"

"Uh huh" said Willow.

"We'll go together" said the Major, "and then we'll return together."

"Yes, ma'am" grinned Willow as the both of them started to run slowly.

TBC.

 


	39. Chapter 39

**The Fraiser Residence, 2200 hours.**

Cassandra Fraiser was running Dr. Fraiser up the wall, excited that they were going to get a houseguest in Tara. She impressed Dr. Fraiser by not only cleaning her room until it was nearly spotless, she also insisted on doing the guest room by herself. The short red haired doctor was leaning against the door frame as she watched her excited adopted daughter do what she insisted on doing by herself.

"We used to have times like this on Hanka" said Cassie as she smiled at Dr. Fraiser just as the dog that Colonel O'Neill had given her jumped onto the bed and lay down while looking at Dr. Fraiser, and then at Cassie, "Rover!"

Dr. Fraiser tried not to laugh at the horrified face that Cassie had made when Rover sat on the freshly made bed. The young girl then stamped her foot down and pointed to the door, however all Rover did was just look at her and continue lying on the bed.

"Mom" said Cassie as she looked at the doctor before nodding at Rover, "he's not moving."

"Maybe he likes the room" said Dr. Fraiser, "I'm sure Tara won't mind."

"Oh" said Cassie as she ran over to the doctor and stooped a few steps away and looked at her with a worried face, "what if Tara doesn't like dogs? Does that mean we'll have to give Rover away?"

"No" laughed Dr. Fraiser as she looked behind Cassie as Rover lifted his head up and looked at her while tilting his head to one side, "no, we don't, Daniel and Teal'c already told Tara about Rover when she decided to stay with us. She loves dogs."

"Really?" asked Cassie with a smiled as Rover gave a bark. The young redhead then jumped onto the bed next to Rover and gave him a hug, "see. She does like you."

"Cassie" said the doctor as she smiled and turned around before going through the hallway into the living room, "we leave for Colonel O'Neill's house once Tara gets here; and make the bed again… you ruined it."

"Right" said Cassie a she grinned at Rover before shooting him off the bed. She then redid it before leaving the room with the dog and turning off the lights. As she headed to the living room where Dr. Fraiser was reading a book in jeans and a red T-Shirt, she heard a car drive up the driveway as she excitedly opened the door, just as Dr. Fraiser put down the book onto the coffee table to her right and got up from the couch.

"Cassie" said the doctor, "I know you're excited, but what did I tell you?"

"Sorry, mom" said Cassie as she stepped back while the dog sat down next to the young redhead, "don't open the door without checking who's on the other side in case it's someone from the NID."

"Yes" said Dr. Fraiser as she stood at the doorway and waved at Teal'c who got out of the passenger side of the car before bowing his head slightly at the short woman. It was Daniel, and then Tara, who got out off the car before Teal'c grabbed two of her boxes full of books while she grabbed a suitcase and a bag. Daniel, in the meantime, grabbed the second suitcase from the trunk and followed Tara up the driveway and up the stairs to the porch.

"Dr. Fraiser" said Teal'c, "where do these boxes belong?"

"Down the hallway" said Dr. Fraiser as she stood back with Cassie who was looking at the young blond woman behind Teal'c, "just go straight head, it's the last door."

"Very well" said Teal'c as he turned to the direction that Dr. Fraiser was pointing before Tara and the Daniel walked in before the latter closed the door.

"Dr. Fraiser" said Tara with a smile, "thank you for letting me stay with you. YOU have a lovely home."

"Thanks, Tara" she replied as she looked down and ruffled Cassie's hair, "and this is my daughter, Cassandra."

"HI, Cassandra" said Tara as she knelt down on one knee and shook her hand, "thanks for having me."

"Rover too" said Cassie as she pointed at the dog who ran over and sat next in between Tara and Cassie, "he's excited about meeting you. He's been driving mom crazy the whole day."

"Really?" asked Tara as she looked at the dog who gave a bark, before Tara looked back at Cassie, "he says that he's really excited too."

"You can speak with dogs?" asked Cassie excitedly before she looked up at Dr. Fraiser, "mom, she can speak with dogs."

"Just one or two things" joked Tara as Cassie looked back at her and smiled before Tara got up and winked at Dr. Fraiser.

"Oh, you just know she's going to be asking you questions the whole night" said Dr. Fraiser while Daniel put one of Tara's suitcases into the room, before heading back for the other one. Once everything was put into the room, Daniel and Teal'c walked up to Tara, Dr. Fraiser and Cassie before asking if they were ready to leave for Colonel O'Neill's house.

"Yeah" said Dr. Fraiser as she headed into the kitchen before coming out with a leash in her hand. She then attached it to the Rover's collar before handing the leash over to Cassie who grinned as she took it.

"Tara" said Cassie, "sit next to me?"

"Sure, sweetie" smiled Tara as she followed Teal'c and Daniel, along with Cassie and the dog, out to the driveway where there were two cars parked. Cassie took Tara's hand and led her to a blue car, while Daniel and Teal'c got into the archaeologists car. It was a few seconds later that they drove off and waited for Dr. Fraiser to start her car on the main road. After the doctor had reversed her car, they went off to Colonel O'Neill's house for a team night.

**The O'Neill Residence, 2230 hours.**

Willow and Major Carter came to Colonel O'Neill's house an hour ago with some snacks they had brought over from a nearby grocery store. The Colonel led them to the kitchen where he took their bags before placing them on the table and setting out the items inside.

"Chips, salsa and dip" said the Colonel as he took out the items from one of the bags before opening the other one, "and ummmmmm….. beer."

"And soda" said Willow, "for me at least. Haven't drank beer before and well, Major Carter's been telling me to hold off on that because of the Basic Training portion of the Academy."

"Yep" said the Major as she put another bag on the table, this one full of two bags of charcoal briquettes, "after you graduate; then we get you your first beer."

"Bet I can beat you" said Willow as the Major stopped what she was doing and turned to Willow with her mouth open in surprise.

"I'll have you know" said the Major as she looked at Willow with an eyebrow raised while the Colonel stood up straight, put his hands into his pockets and just looked at the blonde looking at the grinning redhead, "that the day I graduated, was the day I…"

"Major?" said the Colonel as the Major realized where she was and looked at the Colonel before looking at Willow again.

"Nothing, sir" said the Major as her cheeks became red, "the day I graduated I went home before reporting to my duty station."

"Uh huh" said the Colonel as she glanced at Willow who was just smiling, "ok, how about I go light the grill? Red, think you can use some of your… you know… to make things for me easier? You know, light up the grill?"

"I thought the fun was in the lighting up portion?" asked Willow as she looked at the Colonel, "beside, the Major already thought me that using magic's like cheating. So, yeah… Sorry… Colonel."

"D'oh" said the Colonel as he picked up the two bags of briquettes, "how about you ladies set up the chip station, I've already got the potato salad in the fridge… oh, put the beer in the fridge too will ya? In the meantime, I'll have to light this up the old way…. Using fuel and a lighter. Burnt, as usual.. I take it?"

"Of course, sir" said the Major as she smiled at Colonel O'Neill, "beer marinade, as usual Sir?"

"It's a surprise, Carter" said the Colonel as he walked past Major Carter.

"It is, isn't it? Beer, I mean" asked the Major again as the Colonel turned around to look at the Major and sighed, nodding his head. The Colonel then walked out the glass doors to his patio before the Major turned to Willow and told her that it was just as she thought, "see, I told you it was beer marinade on the way here."

"Yep" said Willow as she opened a bag of chips before pouring everything on a dish. She then looked up at the Major who opened the dip, "sorry about the beer thing just now, didn't mean to make you reveal some secret or something."

"Just one of those things I'd rather forget" said the Major, "just one of those things people do when they're drunk, and then wake up the next morning a few days before they have to report for a duty station with a massive hangover."

"Ah" said Willow, "that bad?"

"Bad enough" said the Major as she looked at Willow before she went to the fridge and took three plastic tubs of potato salad that the Colonel had made earlier that day, "not really comfortable in talking about it."

"I understand" said Willow as she nodded her head before the Colonel rushed in saying that he forgot to take the steaks and hot dogs out of the fridge. The two women smiled at the Colonel who then rushed back to the patio as a great ball of fire erupted from the grill which had Willow looking at the Major, "too much?"

"Why do you think the steaks always gets burnt?" asked the Major.

"One mystery solved" said Willow as she and the Major watched the Colonel try his best put the fire under control before going back to what they were doing. While Willow was unpacking the rest of the snacks, she noticed a picture on the bar that faced the living room; from the angle she was looking at it she could take a look at the face of a boy, about seven or nine years old. She looked at the Colonel who had his back o her before she looked at the picture again and picked it up.

"That's Charlie" said the Major as she opened the salsa before Willow put the puicture frame back the way she found it, "it's the Colonel's son."

"Oh" said Willow quietly, making sure that the Colonel couldn't hear her as he tool a sip of his beer, "I didn't know he's married."

"He… he's not. At least not anymore" said the Major as she looked at the Colonel too with sadness in her eyes.

"Oh" replied Willow when she saw the look from Major Carter, "umm… it's none of my business, Major."

"You'll find out later" said the Major, "but.. but Charlie died months before the Colonel's first mission to Abydos."

"Oh" said Willow as she looked at the Colonel who truned around and waved before turning back towards the grill again. Willow and the Major waved back before the redhead turned back to the blonde and asked her what happened. The Major told Willow what Daniel told her, that Charlie was playing with the weapon since he thought it wasn't loaded.

"To lose a child" said Willow as she looked at the table, "especially like that….."

"He was ready to give up on life from what Daniel told me" said the Major, "but he changed after that first mission. Meeting Daniel, the kids on Abydos… he see's them as his kids now. Especially Skaa'ra, the boy who was taken by Apophis to be the host for his son. And that's one of the many reasons why he was so angry with the Council. Kids being put into the line of fire when they're not ready.. while they're kids."

"Like Buffy when she first started" said Willow softly as the Major nodded her head, "and like me and Xander."

"Before you start the Academy" said the Major nodding her head, "he'll personally be training you with handling firearms. You told me that you fired crossbows when you were fighting alongside Buffy, but now it's going to be different. Those who join the SGC already have firearm training, but with what happened to you… he wants to train you earlier before you begin Basic."

At that Willow nodded as they continued to talk about the SGC, and some of their missions. All the while, Willow was glancing back at the Colonel who was bobbing his head while trying to sing. However, all Willow and the Major could do was try not to listen at how bad his singing was before the finished and took a seat on the couch while the Major drank some beer, and Willow a can of pop.

It was at around ten thirty at night when the Colonel had put on the first few steaks onto the grill when the Major, and Willow, who were seated on the couch in the living room heard two cars coming down the driveway. They both got up just as the Colonel opened the glass door and peeked inside to tell them that Teal'c and the others had arrived.

Willow smiled when she saw Tara getting out of one of the cars, along with Dr. Fraiser and Cassie whom she had met only once. Behind them were Daniel and Teal'c, with Teal'c holding sic DVD's in one hand.

"The whole Star Wars set?" asked the Major who had just come up to Willow and stood next to her at the door.

"Indeed, Major Carter" said Teal'c as he nodded at both the Major and at Willow before walking into the house. It was soon that the entire group not only stayed up late to watch all six Star Wars DVD's, but they stayed up so late that the next morning, Colonel O'Neill excused the groggy Willow who had fallen asleep on the couch that since he was the one instructing her that day, she was excused from training. Willow then nodded her head and smiled before she saw the Colonel heading back to his room to sleep. Looking around at the dark room, the sun was being blocked by a cloudy morning, Willow saw the Major sleeping with her mouth open on an armchair, Rover sleeping next to Tara on the carpet and Daniel sleeping on the bean bag chair.

'Ummm' though Willow as she stretched her arms over her head, 'Dr. Fraiser and Cassie must be in the other room while Teal'c is doing his thing. Daniel told me about it but I can't remember right now…. Still full from last night. Force fed three steaks with the trimmings… not fun. So tired."

Willow then shifted her position on the couch before closing her eyes again with a smile on her face.

TBC.

 


	40. Chapter 40

**White House, Washington, D.C, two weeks later; 1300hours.**

Giles couldn't believe where he was sitting right now. Looking around him, he found himself seated on a chair surrounded by three desks around him. The secretaries manning those desks were busy with their own work, however they let the Watcher know that the President will be seeing him in a little while. As Giles looked out the window, he thought back to the last two weeks where the two Slayers under his charge had already begun some of their training under a Major from the nearby Army base.

The first time Giles met the man was when he came to Joyce's home when both Buffy and Faith were at home. He told them that while he was shocked and surprised to read the reports that Colonel O'Neill had filed about Buffy, and the selected reports he read about the Initiative and it's experiments on demons; he was there to help train the both of them. he looked at Buffy and told her that one of his jobs was to make sure that she got whipped in shape for the Academy Basic Training, and then looked at Faith and told her that they'll be looking to the future now. He told the dark haired Slayer that she'll be starting off with some basics due to her being in a coma for so long.

"Hah" smirked Faith, "bet'cha I can still beat B here anytime."

"Uh huh" said Buffy sarcastically, "sure it does."

"Good" said Major Evan Daniels as he looked at both Buffy and Faith who looked back at him confused, "I want you two to compete against each other, I want you to help each other grow. I know about the bad blood that happened between the two of you, and it won't be easy to work with each other through all that. Dr. Paul Levi, one of the shrinks at the academy has had experience with the weird. He's the one that most of the Airmen and women go to in regards to a special program that we have… the same one that Miss Summers had had a close encounter with when she went to Cheyenne Mountain."

"Oh" said Buffy surprised before she gave a small smile, "I guess then he's ok with all the vampires, and demons; and those stuff?"

"Like me, he took a while" said the Major, "but he'll be by tomorrow to conduct a preliminary examination of your mental states."

Buffy and Faith nodded before the Major turned to the other two adults in the room and asked them to ensure that Xander, and Anya also schedule an appointment with the psychologist.

"I'd like to recommend that the both of you talk to him as well" said the Major as he looked at Giles and Joyce who looked at each other, and then at the Major who told them that there are others who have experience in dealing with the same things as Dr. Levi, and that the Major could arrange for one of them to help Giles and Joyce if they wanted.

"No" said Joyce shaking her head as everyone looked at her, "I don't mind speaking with Dr. Levi."

"Mr. Giles?" asked the Major.

"I'll have to think about it, Major" said Giles as he nodded his head.

"Alright" relied the Major as he looked at everyone, "now, I'd like to speak with Mr. Giles on creating a training schedule for Miss Summer and Miss Lehane."

"Of course" said Giles, "perhaps it would be better if Faith and Buffy, joined us?"

"Actually" said the Major as he looked at his watch and then looked at Buffy and Faith, "I know that Miss Summers finished her classes for the day, and that she goes patrolling at night; and Miss. Lehane, well.. she's still not fully recovered from her months of being in a coma."

"Oh no" said Faith shaking her head from side to side, "I'm not."

"Ok" said the Major as he turned back on the couch and looked at the bright and sunny day outside before turning back and looking at Buffy and Faith, "I want the both of you to put on some comfortable clothes and shoes."

"Huh?" said both Slayers together as Giles and Joyce just looked on.

"But.. but my coma" said Faith.

"MY patrol" said Buffy as the bother of the looked at the Major who stood up.

"You usually patrol around twenty three hundred hours" said the Major, "and since it's a nice day out, I want you to warm up in the back yard and go for a run, around the block. We'll start slow…. Um….. five minutes."

"Major" said Giles, "I'd recommend ten or fifteen minutes."

"Giles!" said Buffy as she turned to Giles when she jumped as the Major raised his voice.

"Recruit Summers!" said the Major as he stood up while Faith covered her mouth to hide her grin, "you will change, report to the backyard where I will lead you and Miss Lehane in some simple warm-ups before you go for a fifteen minute run. OR are you telling me that you are worse off than a girl who just came out of a coma?"

"No" said Buffy as she sighed.

"No, what?" asked the Major as Buffy looked up, "No, what? You have five seconds or…"

"No, sir?" asked Buffy.

"You have five minutes to change, recruit" said the Major as Buffy just stood there and looked at Faith who was trying to hide her laughter, and then at Giles and Joyce who gave her a small wave as she silent begged for an intervention. When she realized that Giles and her mother wouldn't do anything, she turned back to the Major who told her that she now had four minutes, and that every minute over the remaining four minutes would meant she has to do ten push-ups.

"Three and a half" smiled the Major as Buffy ran as fast as she could up the stairs before she closed her door.

The Major then turned to face Faith who was already laughing; however the laughing stopped when she realized that the man was looking at her.

"I'll have you know that I was in a coma and…" said Faith as the Major interrupted her.

"I'll show you some stretching, and warm-ups that'll help you get your muscles back up" said the Major as he looked at Faith, and then at Giles who nodded his head before looking at Faith again, "you'll do that until Miss Summers has finished her run. Mr. Giles and I will then decide on the training schedule for you. I'll talk to Mr. Harris and Miss Jenkins later tonight and arrange a similar testing session for them tomorrow. IN the meantime, for now, I want you to change into something comfortable… put on some comfortable shoes and meet me in the backyard.

"Define comfortable?" asked Faith smirking as she got up from her seat, "there's….."

"Faith" said both Joyce and Giles together.

"I was just kidding" said Faith as she looked at both Joyce and Giles while grinning before she turned back around to the Major who nodded at the stairs just as Buffy ran down in a pair of sweatpants and a T-Shirt. The Major pointed at the backyard as Buffy ran past Faith who grinned at her, before the blonde Slayer opened the back door and went into the backyard. The Major then looked at the other two adults in the room and ran off to the backyard.

Giles was smiling to himself when he recalled that memory and had barely heard his name being called by one of the secretaries, an elderly woman who was looking back at him when he finally realized his name was being called.

"Oh" said Giles apologetically, "sorry, I was deep in thought."

"They're ready for you now, Mr. Giles" said the woman as she walked around the table while Giles stood up and straightened his suit; a suit he rented as the other suits he had on hand made him look like a boring English teacher, at least that's what Xander, Buffy and Faith told him. As he walked towards a door at the end of a hallway, Giles saw the woman open a door and pull it back, before stepping to the side.

"Mrs. Lewis" said a tall brown haired man in a suit as he stood up.

"Mr. President" said Mrs. Lewis as she motioned for Giles to walk into the room, "Mr. Rupert Giles."

"Of course" said the President as he approached Giles who already had his hand out before the President shook it, "welcome to the Oval Office."

"Th.. thank you, Mr. President" said Giles as he smiled at the man before he glanced at the British Prime Minister who also shook his hand. This meeting would continue for a few more days, where in the end it was agreed that the Council would be taking a backseat in the training of the Slayers while both the British and American governments would together fund a new organization that would be formed to tackle not just the Supernatural threats to the planet, it would also train Potential Slayers. Giles was told that a combined committee from the U.S and the U.K would be acting as oversight for the new organization, and this oversight committee would include people who are already familiar with the supernatural. The President told him that someone form the Air Force would be coming by later in the week to help search for a place where this organization could be headquartered in Sunnydale since Giles insisted that the Hellmouth needed to be guarded.

Giles smiled as he continued to walk towards the exit that the Air Force will be providing the resources to help train Buffy, and Faith; followed by Potential Slayers. They still had to hammer out more details about the Potentials and their willingness to be trained, as well as the age at the time that they were willing to be trained; and where. The Prime Minister also told him that Travers is under investigating for what happened on American soil, and they will investigate other Council members who, after interrogating the Special Operations Teams, had ordered kidnappings and assassinations around that world.

The ex-Watcher had told them that he knew some Watchers who disagreed with the way that he Council handled things, and that he'd be willing to provide the government with their names. Giles then told them that the Council has made mistakes, but it is the Council that has almost every knowledge and book on the Supernatural; and that they should remain the guardians of that knowledge. Giles asked that the new Council be more open to helping this organization than it has been in helping the Slayer.

"Things have changed over thousands of years" said Giles when he was in the meeting while the President and the Prime Minister nodded their heads, "and this new Council needs to move ahead with the times."

It was later agreed that the Council itself remain in England, while the new organization will receive an official liaison from the Committee and from the Council so that contact could be maintained with the two organizations. AS Giles left the building and got into the waiting car that was going to take him to the airport, the Watcher was excited about the future of the Council.

'After centuries of doing this the same way' thought Giles to himself, 'a change is coming. And it's something that is sorely required.'

**The Order of Dagon, the Czech Republic; at the same time.**

For thousands of years, the Order of Dagon was solely responsible for one duty, the protection of a ball of living energy that had the power to not only open doorways to every single dimension, it had the power to destroy the planet itself. They knew what would happen if anyone, be it demon or human, that got their hands on it. For thousands of years they had no problem in protecting the Key, the monks were powerful sorcerers in their own right with the ability to bend reality, and transform energy into matter which was an ability coveted by humans everywhere; and mostly shown in science fiction shows which the monks would sometimes watch.

However, they had recently heard rumours from the dark corners of the planet that there was something looking for the Key; a being that claimed to be even older than their Order but younger than the Key. They heard of this being who coveted such a powerful object and were frightened of it. It was soon that they realized that the being after the Key was a god, a hellgod that was kicked out of its own dimension.

The monks knew that the Beast, as they called it, was unsure of where the Key was located as it was constantly moving about from one monastery to another. However, they hoped that the Best would give up its search. However, just in case, they came up with a failsafe in the event the Beast refused to give up. They knew about the Slayer, about Buffy from Sunnydale; but it was only recently that they found out about the second Slayer, Faith Lehane. The elder monk smiled as he sensed the two Slayers, and knew what he should do.

'The two Slayers protecting the Key together' thought the monk to himself as he meditated.

He later ordered his brethren to get the blood from the hospital where Faith was located, the same place where she was kept safe. The monk sent for the duty had bent reality so that they could slip in, and then out after having taken Faith's blood without anyone having known what happened. Another two monks then bent reality and collected Buffy's blood while she was sleeping before slipping away from her bedroom a few weeks ago.

Having completed that mission, now the elder monk read from a dusty book in front of him before glancing towards a shelf on the far side of his chamber. He looked at the two vials of blood and smiled.

'If it ever comes down to it' thought the old man, 'the Key will be protected by two Slayers, by two sisters who would value the life of the Key. Who would give their all to protect it.'

As he was thinking to himself before he started to pray, the elder Monk never sensed the brown haired young woman behind him who walked over to the shelf and looked at the vials of blood before looking at the monk again.

"The beast is coming" said Hera as she looked at the vials again, "I sense the Key moving in the Earth. The beast is close by and… oh…"

Hera then looked out into space and smiled before looking at the Monk.

"My mother is calling me" said Hera, "a sun in Triangulum is going supernova, I have wanted to see that for so long. Farewell, dear monk. May you succeed in the protection of the Key."

TBC.

 


	41. Chapter 41

**The Fraiser residence, Colorado Springs, two months later; 0900 hours.**

It had been two months since Tara came to Colorado Springs from Sunnydale, and since then she has settled in Dr. Fraiser's home; slowly becoming a big sister to Cassie. The young girl, who was unaware of what happened with Tara's family, had innocently asked about Tara about them.

"Cassie" said Dr. Fraiser as Tara helped her to fix dinner after the both of them returned from the SGC; Dr. Fraiser from her shift at the infirmary, and Tara from her duties as Daniel's research assistant, "it's not nice to ask someone about.."

"I… It's alright, Dr. Fraiser" said Tara as she gave her a small smile before the blonde looked at Cassie, "I lost my mother when I was young, and since then I've been living with my father, brother and cousin. Then when I was eighteen, I moved to Sunnydale to attend U. C. Sunnydale."

"Oh" said Cassie as Tara glanced at Dr. Fraiser who nodded her head before tasting a sauce in a pot, "I'm sorry about your mother; but do you see your father?"

"Umm…" said Tara as she thought for a second how to answer that question without telling the young girl that her father tried to kidnap her, "we had a difference in opinion of where I should go. They wanted me to go to college near where I grew up, and I wanted to go to U. C. Sunnydale. They were angry that I chose Sunnydale, but they left when I insisted on staying…. Boy will they be surprised that I moved to Colorado Springs."

"You moved here to be close to Willow, right?" asked Cassie as she smiled at Tara who, along with Dr. Fraiser, started to cough before looking at Cassie, "I mean, you are good friends with her right? The both of you are from Sunnydale so I thought that maybe you're best friends and that you wanted to support her while she attending the Academy?"

"Yes" said Dr. Fraiser as she nodded at Tara to take the plates while she grabbed the pot of sauce and the two women brought it to the dining room table, "they're best friends."

"Uh huh" said Tara with a smile as she walked past Cassie who followed her out to the dining room and sat down n a chair while the blonde placed a plate in front of her before she headed back into the kitchen to grab the spaghetti and the garlic bread, "why else would I come here?"

"That's pretty much it" said Cassie as Tara and Dr. Fraiser sat down at the table while Rover ran up to Cassie and sat next to her while Cassie looked at Dr. Fraiser and grinned, "see I was right."

"Yes, you were" said Dr. Fraiser as she took a bit of food before telling Tara that Cassie noticed how close that she was with Willow.

"Oh" replied Tara before she looked at Cassie and smiled, "very observant, aren't you?"

"Yes" said Cassie proudly, "yes, I am."

It was house after dinner that Dr. Fraiser had sent Cassie to bed, and the two women had cleaned the dishes that they sat down on the couch and just talked. It was very soon, that their talk somehow had turned to relationships when Tara just casually mentioned both Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill. Dr. Frasier almost spit out her wine as Tara covered her mouth to hide her smile. The doctor then looked back and made sure that that Cassie's door was still closed before she turned back to look at Tara.

"OK" said Dr. Fraiser as she took a sip of her wine while Tara took a sip of her ginger beer, "I can tell you that there's nothing going on between them, it's looked down upon since the Colonel is Sam's superior officer and the both of them could get into trouble. There's a lot of people out there who'd do anything to make sure that those two get kicked out of the program."

"Oh" said Tara softly, "I didn't read about that, and…"

"But" said Dr. Fraiser, "with a grin, if there is anything going on; then you can tell me and I'll torture Sam with innuendo's."

"No, nothing like that" said Tara laughing, "when they're together… I can feel a connection that I don't feel with the others. The first time I noticed it was at the barbeque, and then when I'd be helping Dr. Jackson at the SGC."

"You can feel a connection?" asked Dr. Frasier.

"Yes" said Tara nodding her head. Then just before she took another sip, Tara told the diminutive doctor that she felt a connection between her and Daniel. The resultant expression of shock on Dr. Fraiser's face made Tara put down her glass of ginger beer and clap as she laughed softly.

"So that's the way we're playing this game, huh?" asked Dr. Frasier grinning, "so how long have you and Willow been together?"

"Huh?" said Tara as she looked at a grinning Dr. Fraiser with her mouth in the shape of an 'O', "I… I don't know what you mean."

"Uh huh" said the doctor, "I'll have you know that I have a special power as well; the power of observation. I've seen you and Willow at the hospital, especially when you were taking care of her after she was shot. Then at the barbeque at the Colonel's house."

"Oh" replied Tara.

"As long as your relationship with Willow doesn't impact your jobs" said Dr. Fraiser, "then it's all right with the world, and be careful when you go visit Willow at the Academy during the weekends. And I won't tell anyone, although I wouldn't be surprised if Daniel and Teal'c already know about you two. And I would worry about Colonel O'Neill, even if he does know… he'll keep it to himself; unless the relationship directly affects the team, or the mission. As for Sam, well… I hate to say it but she's clueless when it comes to things like this. Don't get me wrong, I love the genius.. but she's a klutz when it comes to things like this. But still….."

"Be careful" said Tara as Dr. Fraiser nodded her head, "I will. And thank you."

'Oh" said the Doctor before she took another sip of the wine, "just so you know, there's nothing going on between me and Daniel."

"Never said there was" smiled Tara, "just said there was a connection between you and him."

"Well" replied the doctor, "there's not."

"Ok" said Tara with a smile.

"He's married" said Dr. Fraiser as Tara nodded her head.

"Yes" replied the blonde witch as she smiled and nodded her head.

"I'm not kidding" said Dr. Fraiser as she raised an eyebrow and looked at Tara, "we're just friends."

"Never said that you weren't" said Tara with a smile as the older redhead just looked at her before giving a wide grin.

Over the two months, Tara began to fit in at the SGC as Daniel's assistant and she was well liked by the other SGC personnel. Some had told Daniel that just having her in a room just lit up everything, however they could never explain how or why that was the case. It was during Tara's work at the SGC that she'll meet up with Willow after her training sessions for lunch, and some things they would go out with Cassie whenever Dr. Fraiser had to be called back to the SGC for emergencies. Other than those outings, Willow and Tara would just go for non-dates where they would just keep up the appearance of being close friends, even though it would kill them on the inside.

"I'm sorry" said Willow softly when she and Tara were in a small coffee shop, a few days before she was due to enter the Academy. Tara looked up confused at the redhead who saw her looking down at her coffee before Tara guessed what was going on.

"You nothing to be sorry about" said Tara as Willow looked up at a smiling blonde, "I'm proud of you for doing this, and I understand that there is a line that can't be crossed.. yet."

"I'll tell the others when…." Said Willow excitedly when Tara reached for her hand and squeezed it before letting go.

'You'll tell them when you feel comfortable" said Tara as Willow interrupted her.

"We… We'll tell them when we feel comfortable" said Willow as Tara smiled and nodded her head.

"When we feel comfortable" repeated the witch, "but, until then… you need to be careful. You're entering the Academy in a few days, and… I mean I'll still see you in the weekends. And in the meantime, I'll be keeping busy at the SGC."

"And I'll be in the great outdoors" said Willow as she took a sip of her coffee and looked out at the mountains in the distance, "I'll miss you, you know."

"I'm not going anywhere" said Tara as Willow turned and smiled at the grin on Tara's face, "oh…I talked to Faith the other day."

Although they were separated by states, Willow and Tara still kept in contact with the Scoobies. Willow still talked with Buffy and the others, encouraging the Slayer that she'll be alright until she joins the redhead at the Academy; and she also talked to Faith. The two trying to put their differences behind them and move on to the future. However, it was Tara and Faith who had gotten close real fast after the witch left Sunnydale. They would spend hours just talking while the encouraged each other to make the best out of their lives. The both of them knew each other's backgrounds, and they felt like kindred spirits to each other.

It was, finally, the day of Willow's in-processing at the Academy. Back in the Fraiser household, Tara was hurriedly brushing her hair when she heard a soft knock on her door; followed by a familiar voice.

"Tara?" said Dr. Fraiser, "are you ready to go?"

"Yes" said Tara as she put her brush down and looked at the mirror, worry over her face before she looked away and opened the door with a smile. Dr. Fraiser told Tara that she and Cassie were ready to go, and that the others were already leaving, "sorry, I was just… yeah, I'm ready."

"Are you alright?" asked Dr. Fraiser as Cassie stood next to her with Rover on a lease.

"Ye.. yes" said Tara with as smiled at Dr. Fraiser looked at her suspiciously before she nodded and then the three of them left the house. However, the truth was that Tara's wasn't alright, that she was having a particular vivid dream for the past week. She was in what looked like a junkyard as she looked up at a tall tower. At the end of the tower was a platform that jutted out into the air, where she would see someone who was struggling to move. She could not make out who it was due to the fighting going on below between the Scoobies and several armed teams, against strange creatures in red. However, she then saw a platinum haired man dropping in front of her before he started to moan from the pain. She looked behind her as she heard shouts; it was then she realized that Buffy was fighting a blonde woman in a red dress. Tara saw Buffy tackle the woman to the ground just as everyone else, except for the creatures, retreated before Buffy was flung away by the woman kicking out with her as she lay on the floor. Buffy hit a wall before she slid down onto the floor before quickly getting up onto her feet.

Tara saw Buffy look towards her before she screamed, "Now!"

Tara realized that Buffy was actually screaming behind her as the Blonde Slayer ran towards her, away from the woman who started to slowly get up from the floor. The witch looked behind her and saw Faith with a rocket launcher that seemed to be aimed at the woman in red. Running behind Buffy, Tara heard the sound of the rocket being fired before turning around and watching a giant fireball that caused everything to shudder.

"Buffy! Faith!"

Tara looked up as she saw the two Slayers heading up to the stairs when they heard the woman shouting from the explosion. She saw Faith turn around as she told Buffy that she should be the one getting the 'kid', while the dark haired Slayer takes care of the 'bitch in red'.

Tara saw the red woman was already bruised and bloodied from the direct missile attack as the armed groups reappeared and started to fire heavy weapons. Faith grabbed another rocket launcher from one of the armed men and told everyone to get out. The blonde witch could see the woman in red sneer right before Faith fired another rocket at her. Taking cover from the resultant explosion, Tara could see the tower was shaking… but it didn't fall as Buffy almost made her way to the top. Tara then looked down as Faith jumped towards the figure who was slowly getting up again through the smoke. She could see, and hear, shouts and punches from both Faith and the woman; however, it was Faith who stood as the woman was flung out into the open before the Slayer ran and kneed the woman in the chest as she lay bleeding on the ground. Tara watched as Faith straddled her and kept punching the woman when everyone stopped what they were doing as a bright light shone above them.

Looking up, Tara could see a blue portal opening as the woman in the red dress laughed hysterically. She could see Giles, Xander, Anya and others looking at the portal in shock before she head Faith shouting.

"How do we stop it!" shouted Faith as she kept on punching the laughing woman, "how?!"

"You know how" said the woman as she caught Faith's next punch with the palm of her hand before she roughly pushed the Slayer off her, flinging her to the far side of the clearing as she hit a wall and then slid down onto the ground while Tara turned to see Xander, Anya and other armed soldiers firing their weapons at the woman, "You think any of you could beat me? You're all monkeys beneath my feet, you'll…"

Tara saw the woman stop when a flash of lighting from the portal hit the ground and opened a chasm, the witch saw the lighting hitting various part outside the junkyard they were fighting, followed by a deafening scream as they all stopped firing and looked in shock as a dragon flew out of the portal.

"I've won, you maggots" shouted the woman as she was soon hit by blue and orange bolts of energy as Tara watched SG-1, SG-2 and SG-3 running in through the gate at the end of the junkyard as they fired at the woman, "I'm going home."

"What took you so long!?" Tara heard Xander shout at Colonel O'Neill.

"Traffic" shouted the Colonel as he and Teal'c fired the Staff Weapon, and the other SG teams fired the Zat's at the woman, while the other fired whatever weapon they had on hand.

However, over the sounds of weapons fire, Tara heard a scream from the top of the tower as she saw a blonde haired figure run on the platform before jumping off.

"No" said Tara as she looked up as she saw the blonde woman, as she saw Buffy screaming in pain, from inside the portal, "No, no, no."

"NO!" shouted the red dressed woman as she looked up before the portal closed, followed by Buffy's body falling on the ground right in front of Tara. The eyes of the Slayer looking right at the witch.

That was the time when Tara would wake up drenched in sweat; at first she didn't know what to make of any of what she saw in her dream. There was no way to tell if it really was a dream of things that would happen, or just a manifestation of her worry about what the Scoobies were dealing with everyday.

Whatever the case, Tara was wondering what the dream meant as she got into the car with Dr. Fraiser and Cassie, along with Rover. Tara didn't want to worry the others about something unnecessarily, at least until she knew what was going exactly; for now, her girlfriend was waiting for them before her Academy in-processing, and she wanted to be there for Willow. But first, they had a surprise to pick up for the redhead.

**Air Force Academy, 1000 hours.**

Willow was already on the Academy grounds with Major Carter as she looked around nervously while being surrounded by other entrants into the Academy as they were saying goodbye to their families. The redhead stood next to Major Carter when she noticed Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c and Daniel walking up to them.

"Red" said the Colonel as he approached Willow and took off his sunglasses before looking around and looking back at the redhead again, "you feeling alright? YOU look a bit pale."

"Nervous" said a squeaky Willow, "real nervous."

"Good" said the Colonel, "means that you're excited about this. Trust me, before you know it five weeks of Basic will be gone just like that."

"Good luck, Willow" said Daniel as Willow nodded at the man while Teal'c looked around and took a step forward.

"Willow Rosenberg" said Teal'c, "will your family not be coming?"

"No, they couldn't" said Willow as she looked around nervously as she saw parents, and other family members, hugging their children or nephews, or nieces before she looked at SG-1 who were looking at each other while frowning and then turning to the redhead, "mom said that she's got this ultra important conference in Geneva, while dad's in Germany. They'll be back in the country next month."

"You kinda forgot them" said Daniel as he looked to the left, smiled and pointed his finger into the distance.

Willow looked at where he was pointed and grinned when she saw Dr. Fraiser walking with Tara, Cassie who was walking with Rover; with the surprise additions of Xander and Joyce.

"Willster" said Xander as the redhead hugged her oldest friend and held on tight. Xander ran hs fingers through her hair before kissing the top of her head. Willow then squeezed tight for one more time before she stepped back and hugged Joyce, who kissed the redhead's cheeks before squeezing the redhead tightly again.

"I'm proud of you" said Joyce as she felt warm liquid down her neck. Joyce rubbed circles around Willow's back until the redhead pulled back and wiped her eyes. She thanked Joyce and Xander for coming, and that it meant a lot to her. Xander then told Willow that Buffy, Faith and Anya wished her the best. Joyce told her that Buffy and Faith would be coming to visit her after Basic, as would Giles and Anya who were getting their newest collaboration off the ground; they had bought the Magic Box. At the same time, according to Xander, Giles would be helping create the new organization which should be up and running in a few more months. IN the meantime, he and the new trainers from the Air Force and the Marines set up training schedules for everyone based on some initial testing they had done.

Joyce then told her that Buffy had an exam that she couldn't miss or else she had to do a three mile run, while Faith was studying for her GED which she'd be taking in a few months time. But Joyce told Willow that they really did wish the best for her, and that they were proud of her.

"I'm glad you guys managed to come" said Willow with a smile before the redhead approached Tara and gave her a hug.

"I love you, sweetie" whispered Tara into Willow's ear.

"I love you too" whispered Willow before she stepped back as Cassie wrapped her arms around Willow's waist and hugged her tight.

"I'll see you soon, Cass" said Willow as she ruffled the young redhead's hair while Rover barked, which made Willow turn to him and tell him that he'll be missed as well.

"Willow" said Dr. Fraiser as she put her hand on the redhead's shoulder, "remember, you'll report to the Academy counsellor first thing after your Basic's been completed. And… well, that's the only reminder I have for you. Other than that, just push yourself.. push yourself a lot. I'm expecting you to graduate at the top of your class, and beat Sam's records at everything too while you're at it."

"Hey" said Major Carter as she walked over to the two redheads, "I'm right here."

"I know" said Dr. Fraiser as Daniel walked past her and gave Willow a hug.

"We'll see you during the breaks" said Daniel as Major Carter nodded her head, "and I'm sure that Sam and Jack's got some assignments for you doing some Deep Space Telemetry stuff."

"Uh huh" said the Colonel as he approached Willow and put his hand gently on her shoulder, "once you get on that bus, things will change. Carter and I, even Lou and Dave, told you that what, and how, we've trained you at the SGC is different from what's going to happen. We've given you the basics, and now.. now comes the real stuff. After Basic, comes the toughest four years of your life; and I have every faith in you that you can handle what's coming, and I know you'll do your best."

Willow nodded her head as she picked up her bag before Tara gave the redhead a hug again, followed by Joyce who kept on wiping her tears.

"Good luck, Willow" said the Major as she squeezed her arm, "be careful out there, and like the Colonel said, I know you can handle what's coming."

"Willow Rosenberg" said Teal'c as he stepped forward as bowed his head respectfully, "may you become the warrior that you choose to be."

"Thanks, Teal'c" said Willow as Cassie gave her another hug, before Dr. Fraiser gently put her hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"Write to us, or call" said the redhead as she looked at Willow, "it helps to keep contact with the outside world."

"And when we're not on a mission" said Major Carter, "we'll come visit."

"Me too" said Tara as Willow nodded her head.

"So" said Colonel O'Neill, "you ready?"

"Yes, sir" replied Willow.

"Come on then" said the Colonel as the group heading to watch Willow get on the bus, before it drove away.

TBC.

 


	42. Chapter 42

**Willow's Dorm Room, Air Force Academy, 2200 hours.**

Willow walked towards her dorm after having spent time in the library studying. With a bag slung over her shoulder, and in her cadet uniform, she smiled as she walked while thinking about the recent visit she had from Tara the previous Sunday. The blonde witch had started her classes at the Colorado Springs branch of the University of Colorado, and from what she had been telling Willow; she loved every minute of it. Most of the time, she would come in with Cassie and Dr. Fraiser so while the doctor would say hi to Willow and find out how her week had been.. the diminutive doctor would then go to the Academy hospital check up on her patients while leaving Cassie and Tara alone with Willow.

The three of them would then just sit at one of the many tables around the grounds, and have lunch together. Most of the time, it would be Cassie who would be talking while Tara and Willow would steal glances at each other before looking at the younger redhead to show that they were listening. The heartbreaking point of their visit would be when Tara had to leave; the both of them knew that their relationship had to be kept a secret and so, Tara would just give Willow a quick hug while whispering into her ear.

"I love you, sweetie."

"I love you" Willow would whisper in return just before she pulled back, all the while looking at Tara's lips before looking up at her eyes, "see you next week?"

"Of course" said Tara with a smile as she stepped back.

"I'll see you too" said Cassie as Willow gave the young redhead a hug.

"Have your parents come to see you?" asked Dr. Frasier after Cassie stepped back.

"Yea" replied Willow, "but they had to leave the next day from Denver, but at least I got to see them again."

It was only the previous day that not only had Tara come to visit Willow, so had Joyce, Buffy and Faith. As she entered her dorm, Willow remembered them talking about their training and how Faith was beating Buffy at nearly all the physical tests that the trainers had been giving them.

"Not all" said Buffy with a frown.

"It's alright to be a little jealous, B" said Faith as she looked around at the other Cadets who were walking, or sitting at tables with their families, "umm… lots'a hunks here, Red."

"Faith" said Joyce and Buffy together as Faith looked back at them and grinned before she ran up to Willow and placed an arm around her shoulder.

"So, Red" said Faith, "they treating you alright?"

"Yea" said Willow as she smiled at the dark haired Slayer who removed her arm from around Willow's shoulders and put her hand in her pocket, "you doing alright?"

"Uh huh" she replied, "the G-man, and Joyce, have been helping me with the GED stuff. The big day's in two weeks… can't wait."

"Is that a 'I'm so afraid' can't wait?" snickered Buffy from behind Faith as the dark haired Slater turned around and stuck her tongue out at her blonde counterpart while Tara and Joyce shook their heads.

"No" said Faith, "more like a 'I'll be kicking yours ass when I get into college' can't wait."

"Uh huh" said Buffy as she rolled up her eyes.

"She's still upset I beat her" said Faith as Willow looked back at Tara, and then at Buffy whose eyebrows were raised high.

"No you didn't" said Buffy as she ran towards Faith until she was next to the dark-haired Slayer.

"Did to" said Faith.

"Did not."

"Did to."

"Did not."

"Did to."

Willow smiled thinking about the interaction between Faith and Buffy as she opened the door to her room which she shared with one of the cadets she met during the Basic Cadet Training. Willow smiled at at the olive skinned brunette who was working on calculus at her table before she turned and watched the redhead place her bag on the bed before releasing a breathe and sitting down.

"Hey Willow, rough day?"

"Coleen" said the redhead as she smiled at her roommate before she lay on the bed with her legs hanging off the edge, "uh huh, but fun though. How's your calculus assignment?"

"Just a few more left" said Coleen, "don't tell me you're done with yours."

"Uh huh" said Willow as she propped herself up using her elbows while grinning at her roommate.

"I hate you" said Coleen as Willow stuck her tongue out at the young woman before she turned her chair towards Willow and leaned back, "oh, I wanted to ask you something n behalf of my brother."

"Oh boy" said Willow as she shook her head, "like I already told him when he hit on me, I'm with someone.. and he's not exactly…."

"No, no" laughed the young woman, "I reminded him to stay away from you.. don't worry about that. It's just that when he came yesterday, well…. we saw you with your friends and he was asking if you'd be willing to introduce him to the one with black hair. She was walking next to you for most of the time? Wearing a black jacket, jeans… the red shirt?"

"Oh" said Willow when she realized that her roommate was talking about Faith, "I don't know if she's still single….. and she lives in Sunnydale. But I can tell you that I don't think…"

"My family's from Santa Barbara" said Coleen with a smile, "just a few hours drive, you think you could ask her when you send your letters to Sunnydale?"

"Fine" sighed Willow, "I'll ask but if she says no then…"

"HE said that he found your other two friends attractive too" said Coleen as she gave a small laugh at the look on Willow's face, "the two blondes."

"Don't you have calculus to finish up?" asked Willow with an eyebrow raised before she stood up and turned around before she started to unbutton her uniform.

"Please? Willow?" asked Coleen as the redhead turned and looked at her roommate, "if the tough looking one…."

"Faith" said Willow as she took off her uniform and put on a white Air Force T-shirt, "her name's Faith, the short blonde one is Buffy and the tall one with long hair is Tara."

"Faith? Buffy?" asked Coleen, "really?"

"Yep" grinned Willow as she sat on the bed before her smiled vanished as she looked at her roommate, "and? What about them?"

"Well" said Coleen, "he was asking about them too… yeah.."

"Hate to say it, Col" said Willow, "but your brother's a…."

"Ass?" asked Coleen as Willow nodded her head, "believe me it's uncomfortable for me to ask you all this, but my little brother knows when I'm lying… it's like a weird power he has or something. He'll know if, and when, I lie so the next time I see him and he asks me again… I can tell him honestly that I asked and you said no."

"Well" said Willow, "Buffy will be attending the Academy sometime in the Fall of next year so he can ask her out if he wants then… but I already know what she'll say. And trust me, you don't wanna push her. As for Tara..well, I know the person she's dating really well. And your brother doesn't want to get that person angry."

"A nutcase?" asked Coleen as Willow flinched on the inside.

"Sometimes" said Willow, "but she's in love with the other person, so.. yeah. But I'll ask Faith and Buffy about your brother. And if, only if, they're willing.. then I'll let you know."

"Sorry, Willow" said Coleen as the redhead shrugged her shoulders before the young woman looked at her open books, and then looked at Willow again, "think you could help me with some of this?"

"Yeah" replied the redhead as she got off the bed and sat next to Coleen.

It was around eleven that Willow and Coleen had finally gone to bed after they had turned off the lights in the room. The redhead heard her roommate say a small prayer before whispering goodnight to Willow.

"Night" said Willow as she looked up at the ceiling while she had both her hands behind her head as she lay on the pillow. It was at that time that she sensed something as she quickly got up and sat on the bed. She looked at her roommate sleeping on her own bed, before she looked behind her, and around the room. Unknown to the redhead, something just happened… something that changed reality itself in such a way that no one knew that anything had been changed, a reality shift so important; so complete that it was done to protect one life from the clutches of a god.

Willow looked around confused when she felt a strange sensation go through her before she whispered towards Coleen, asking her if she was asleep.

"Nope" said Coleen as she turned as she lay on her bed and faced Willow, "you alright?"

"Just.. just thought about something" said Willow slightly confused, "sorry to wake you up."

"Oh" said Coleen, "thinking about Dawn?"

"Uh huh" said Willow as she remembered the time when Professor Walsh tried to kidnap her, the alternate older Dawn and the younger version, "I just thought… you know… I just thought I heard her voice."

"You miss her" said Coleen, "I remember she wouldn't let you go yesterday when Faith, Buffy, Tara and her mother visited you. She loves you very much."

"She's like the little sister I never had" said Willow as she shook her head and rubbed her forehead. She knew that something wasn't right…. That she was missing something that was in the back of her mind, 'like a memory that I can't access; a memory that's trying to be forgotten.'

"She'll be coming again next month, right?" asked Colleen as Willow nodded her head, confusion still etched on her face as she rubbed her forehead again, trying to remember what it was that she forgot. But the more she remembered, the more she seemed to forget what she was searching her mind for. It was a few seconds later that the redhead nodded at Coleen who smiled at her before pulling her own blanket to her neck and falling asleep. IN the meantime, Willow just shook her head before she lay down again.

'Dawnie' thought Willow to herself as she closed her eyes, 'what am I forgetting?'

As soon as Willow closed her eyes, she found herself standing in what looked like the bridge of a ship. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was in the same clothes that she went to bed in; her white T-Shirt and shorts before she looked around at her surroundings. She say consoles around a central table before she turned around and saw a large chair that were flanked by two consoles next to it; and then another two consoles at either side of a large window that looked out into space.

"It.. it can't be" said Willow as she ran to the window and looked at the Earth.

"Oh" said a familiar voice as Willow turned around and came face to face with herself in dress blues. Taking a step closer, Willow say that her doppelganger was wearing Captain pins on her shoulders, "but it is."

"Wait a sec" said Willow as she held her hands up and went back a few steps, "you're Captain Rosenberg, from the other reality. But how? I mean… you're in another reality so how can you be here… again?"

"Right" said Captain Willow, "sorry about this but technically I'm just a post hypnotic trigger left by Captain Willow Rosenberg; a message in a bottle, if you will. Like an interactive hologram… ah.. a holo-telegram. So… if I may be a bit clichéd?"

"O….K?" said a confused Willow as she looked around her surroundings again and then looked at Captain Willow.

"Cool" said Captain Willow, "so.. hey, Willow. If you see this message… then it means that you remember Dawn. Or at least, your reality's version of Dawn. I don't know where you are at this moment in your life; you could be still in Sunnydale, or the Air Force Academy; not really sure but this message was implanted the day that I showed you my memories. Remember we had that telepathic contact?"

"Uh huh" said Willow.

"Yeah.. this message was placed at that time" said Captain Willow, "designed to be activated once you had memories of Dawn implanted into your mind."

"Wait…" said Willow as she stepped forward, "what?"

"Dawn" said Captain Willow, "Dawnie… the Dawnster… the lil' Slayer… Buffy's sister in my reality? That Dawn."

"She's Buffy's biological Sister" said Willow as she looked at her counterpart who nodded her head, "and Faith's sister after she was adopted by Joyce."

"Huh?" said Captain Willow as she scratched her head, "really? Huh? The monks must be going nuts knowing that there were two Slayers to watch over Dawn."

"Monks? Implanted memories?" asked Willow, "what are you talking about?"

"I know I said I won't interfere" said Captain Willow as she sighed, "that I wanted you to live your life… but whether you're still in Sunnydale, or with the Air Force.. there is one truth you need to know. No matter how unbelievable it is.. you need to believe me because it affects your reality… everything in your reality, it affects Faith and Buffy; it affects everyone."

"Ok" said Willow.

"Here goes" said Captain Willow as she approached Willow, "Dawn is a vessel constructed to hold the power of a massive amount of living energy, a very powerful form of living energy known as the Key. She, specifically her blood, has the power to open a portal into every single hell dimension in your reality."

"No" said Willow shaking her head in shock, "that's not possible… I remember meeting Dawn when Buffy moved to Sunnydale. These memories weren't implanted.. not if I can feel them… remember the smells and…."

"The memories are real" said Captain Willow, "but at the same time..they're still fake. The monks, the Order of Dagon, in my reality had the power to changed energy into matter and cause shifts in reality. But they had a very good reason to do what they did, a very good reason to create Dawn and send her to Buffy; and I guess in your reality, to send her to Faith as well. A hellgod know as Glory came after Dawn in my reality, and she managed to use Dawn's blood to open a portal. And… and it took Buffy sacrificing herself to close the portal. In my reality, Buffy died but was later resurrected by Tara, Giles, Xander and the others working together."

"It.. it can't be" said Willow as she shook her head, "a god… Buffy dead.. Dawn…."

"Dawn's human" said Captain Willow as she stood in front of Willow, "she's human as you, or Giles, or Joyce. She needs to be protected, Willow. Her blood can only open the portal at a certain time and place.. and in my reality it happened months later after she appeared. IN my reality, I heard she didn't take it well… I mean she found out that she's the harbinger of destruction on a planetary scale, and there was a god coming after her."

"Wait… god as in?"

"A god" said Captain Willow, "super strength, immortality, durability, insanity."

"Insanity?" asked Willow.

"According to what my Dawn told me" said Willow, "being in the human dimension makes her weak… she loses mental functions the longer she stays here and so, she needs to suck the mental energies of people by pushing her fingers into their minds.. draining their mental energy."

"A brain sucker?" asked Willow as Captain Willow nodded her head.

"That's one" said Captain Willow, "but she has another weakness. Even though she's a god.. she doesn't have all the powers of a god. She can't throw fire or lightning, neither is she fully immortal. The story goes that she was kicked out of her own dimension by her enemies and placed into a human baby that was created specifically to contain her. That's her weakness; she's part human. If she's killed while in human form.. then she's dead. Permanently. The human vessel's name is Ben.. Ben Wilkinson. HE's supposed to be either a doctor, or a nurse at Sunnydale Memorial hospital. I'm not lying… ask Giles to check up on the numbers of those who have been admitted into the mental illness ward. You should see a jump."

"Does Glory know who Dawn is?" asked Willow.

"No" said Captain Willow, "just that the Key is in Sunnydale. She has no idea that Dawn is the one she's looking for. Remember, Dawn doest know that she is the Key; to Dawn, she's Buffy's biological sister… and according to you, Faith's sister too. She's human, Willow; she loves you just like my Dawn loves me, even though we had a falling out, and I love her too. Protect her, get rid of Ben.. and Buffy, Dawn, Faith are safe. Buffy won't have to die in your reality."

"I… I'll talk to Colonel O'Neill" said Willow as Captain Willow nodded her head.

"Where are we?" asked Willow as she looked around the bridge.

"Earth's first battle cruiser" said Captain Willow as she walked up to the main window, "the USAF Prometheus."

'Neat" said Willow as she looked around with a wide grin on her face before she looked back at the look on the Captain, which was when Willow's smile vanished, "what's wrong?"

"The main thing this message concerns is Dawnie" said Captain Willow, "the second part depends on the answer you give me. Are you in the Academy?"

"Uh huh" said Willow as she nodded her head while Captain Willow closed her eyes, "why?"

"When people go through the gate" said Captain Willow, "people die."

"That's what I've been told" said Willow, "I know… I know people will die."

"In my reality" said Captain Willow, "the first time I saw someone die was during my time at the Academy. I…. It was Daniel."

"Wait.. what?" asked Willow.

"Listen" said Captain Willow, "I'm certain that even before this message that there have been a lot of changes that diverged from my own reality… I don't know what… but I can be sure of it. You may try to save Daniel, maybe someone else will try to save Daniel… or someone may use magic to save him…. Whatever it is… you need to let him die."

"WHAT?" shouted Willow, "how can you say that? He's your friend and, he's… he's one of the people who saved me.. you were there. Remember?"

"His death" said Captain Willow, "his death will be prevented by an Ascended Being, by one of the Gate builders… by one of the Ancients."

"If you save his life" continued Captain Willow as Wiilow looked on horrified, "then we… you, and your SGC will lose information on a great enemy. You'll lose a valuable ally in the ascended version of Daniel. Trust me on this. You need to let everything play out… I don't know if you still use magic.."

"I don't" said Willow as Captain Willow nodded her head.

"Then the second powerful witch I know is Tara" said Captain Willow, "you need to prevent him from being fully healed. I know he'll make the choice to ascend because of the knowledge he'll gain…. Because of the good he can do from the higher planes of existence. But you need to convince Tara not to do anything, I know it's hard…"

"You're talking about murder" said Willow as she glared at Captain Willow, "you're talking about murder."

"When the time comes" said Captain Willow with her eyes red, "look into his mind, you'll see what I mean. Another big bad is out there, Willow… and you guys need the Ascended Daniel's knowledge. Eventually, a lot of sacrifices will be made. But whatever happens to Daniel needs to happen; he'll save lives.. millions of lives. He'll be a hero. I know it's hard, but I need you to understand what could happen. I saw him ascend… I saw him die, but he was happy. He came to my graduation from the Academy, you know…."

"Anything else?" asked Willow with her hands rolled into fists.

"I'd be upset too" said Captain Willow as she closed her eyes, "what could happen to him isn't fate; but if I know him as well as I do.. he'll make the choice to save lives, and try to help you and the others from the higher planes of existence. As for Dawn, tell Buffy, Giles, and Colonel O'Neill…. Tell them to protect her. Despite what she is… she is human. She is Buffy's and Faith's sister, that's what's important."

"Willow?"

"Be safe Willow" said Captain Willow as she saluted her counterpart, "you're in for one hell of a ride."

"Willow?"

"Will you still be here in my mind? I mean.. what happens to you now?" asked Willow as the image of Captain Willow started to vanish.

"I gave you the messages" said Captain Willow with a smile, "believe me, interesting times would be coming for you. Good luck at the academy, it was so much fun."

"Willow!"

"Coleen?" said Willow as she snapped her open and looked up at her roommate's head as it blocked the light fixture on the ceiling, "what time is it?"

"It's six" said Coleen as she looked at Willow in concern, "I heard you talking in your sleep… who's Daniel?"

'Sorry" said Willow as she slowly sat up as Coleen stepped back, "he's a friend of mine."

"Oh" said Coleen, "cute?"

"Kinda" said Willow as she turned and hung her feet off the edge of her bed. The redhead knew that she needed to contact the SGC; what Captain Willow had told her was important… possibly world ending if nothing was done. She told Coleen that she was alright before the young woman made her way to the rest room to make herself ready for the day while Willow sat on her bed, looking into the distance.

"Dawnie, you'll be alright. You'll be safe. Don't worry."

TBC.

 


	43. Chapter 43

**eneral Kerrigan's Office, Air Force Academy, 1730 hours.**

Willow had contacted Major Carter after she had asked permission from the person in charge of her cadet squadron. That was hours back and now she was called to General Kerrigan's office where she was pleasantly surprised when she saw Daniel, Teal'c and Tara waiting outside the General's office. Smiling at them, she then walked into the office in her uniform. She saw the man stand up, with next to him standing Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill in their Dress Blues.

"Cadet Rosenberg reporting, Sir" said Willow as she gave the General a salute, and then glanced at the Major and Colonel O'Neill.

"At ease, cadet" said the General as Willow put her hand down, "I take it that what you three have to discuss concerns that Deep Space Telemetry program in Cheyenne?"

"Yes, sir" said Colonel O'Neill as Major Carter walked up to, and smiled at Willow, "we'd just like to talk about some information Cadet Rosenberg has come across."

"O…k" said a confused General Kerrigan before he smiled, "I know a cover story, Colonel. If it's classified, it's classified… I'll give you the conference room on the second level for privacy."

"Thank you, sir" said Major Carter.

"Dismissed, Cadet, Major, Colonel" said the General as the three of them saluted the man before they walked out of his office together and met up with Daniel, Teal'c and Tara. The sic of them then took an elevator and went to the second floor, down the hallway and through a door. The room they walked into was simple with chairs laid against the wall and a long rectangular table in the middle that was surrounded but more chairs. Pulling out one of the chairs, the Colonel told everyone to take a seat before they started the impromptu briefing.

"Alright, Red" said the Colonel as he leaned forward, "Carter said that you had something important to share?"

"Yes, sir" said Willow, "I… I had a dream last night."

"A dream?" asked Major Carter.

"To be honest" said Willow, "I'm not sure what is was exactly, but it was played out in a dream. Remember Captain Rosenberg.. my counterpart in the other reality said that she was a telepath?"

"Uh huh" said Colonel O'Neill as the others nodded their heads.

"Well" replied Willow, "she left a message for me, a message that's supposed to be triggered when I… and I know this sounds strange… when I received my memories of Dawn."

"Buffy's sister?" asked Daniel as Willow nodded her head as Tara and the others looked at each other, and then at Willow again.

"Wait" said Tara, "you said received… you received memories of Dawn."

"I didn't believe her at first" said Willow as she looked at Tara, "but before I went to bed.. I felt strange… like I was supposed to remember something but I couldn't…"

"I… I didn't feel anything like that" said Tara as she shook her head.

"Maybe it's because of the message she left me" said Willow, "but she told me that Dawn was created by something called the Order of Dagon. They have the power to transform energy into matter…"

"That's… that's not possible" said the Major, "I mean even…"

"That's powerful magiks" said Tara as she leaned forward, "very, very powerful magiks."

"She said that they caused a reality shift" said Willow as everyone looked at her stunned, "they did it all to hide some kind of powerful living energy known as the Key. According to Captain Willow, they moulded it into a human being.. into Dawn. She told me that the Key, which is contained in Dawn's blood, can open a doorway in every single dimension…. Every single hell dimension…"

"Oh goddess" said Tara as she stood up while Major Carter and the others looked at her in concern.

"I have been told that there is only one hell and one heaven" said Teal'c as he looked at the faces of the people around him.

"At least that's what most people would say" said Daniel as he leaned back, "but every religion believe that there are multiple levels of hell.. or the afterlife if you will. People who committed evil deeds of various degrees would end up at a level that reflects the level of punishment they will receive for committing that act. But those were just in books and stories…"

"It's true" said Tara as Willow looked at her, "there are uncountable hell dimensions, just as there are many heavenly dimensions. But if this Key, if the Key in Dawn's blood targets hell dimensions… and if the walls that keep the dimensions separate break…"

"You're talking about hell on Earth" said Colonel O'Neill surprised, "literally hell on Earth."

"Yes" said Tara as she leaned on a table, her face etched with worry.

"Captain Willow said that Dawn doesn't know anything" said Willow, "that she's fully human, and that her blood needs to be spilled at a certain time, and at a certain place. But Dawn's the one in danger."

"It sounds as if Dawn is the danger" said Major Carter softly as everyone looked at her before she shook her head, "she can't be. I remember meeting her when she was almost kidnapped with her alternate version, she came with Willow, Tara, Joyce and Buffy. She was there when we saw the Stargate. She's been eager to join the Academy since then… I just sent her an email yesterday. Are all those fake?"

"She's got a crush on Daniel" said Colonel O'Neill, "made Xander jealous."

"Colonel, Major" said Willow, "from what my alternate said, she's completely human. In her reality, she was sent to Buffy as her sister.. so that the Slayer could protect her… protect the Key. But, something happened…. Something called Glory got to her and her blood was spilled. A portal was opened and Buffy had to jump into the portal to close it. The Buffy in that reality died… she died."

"What?" asked Colonel O'Neill as he looked on as Willow hung her head.

"Are you certain, Willow Rosenberg?"

"Yea, Teal'c" said Willow as she looked up and nodded her head.

"What was after Dawn?" asked Tara.

Willow then told the shocked group about what Captain Willow had told her. She told them about Glory, and her status as a hell god.

"A god?" asked Daniel, "as in a bona fide god?"

"Yes" said Willow as everyone looked at each other in disbelief, except for Tara; the blonde witch looked increasingly worried the more Willow spoke, "she's not like the Goa'uld. They're just parasites, this is a god. Captain Willow said that she has most of the powers of a god, but she's also handicapped."

"How?" asked Tara, "Willow? This is important, how is she handicapped?"

"Her enemies kicked her out of their dimension" said Willow as she looked at Tara, "she's been placed in a special human vessel, a man by the name of Ben Wilkinson. She's human here, but she's nearly indestructible. But she can't stay in this dimension since it weakens her and, well… she needs to suck brains."

"A brain sucker?" asked the Major with her eyes wide open, "as in?"

"She puts her fingers into the brains of people and sucks their mental energies" said Willow before telling SG-1 to check on the number of mentally ill people in Sunnydale. She told them that Captain Willow said that the number should have increased significantly within the last few days, "at least that's my guess. If she's already in Sunnydale."

"A god" said the Major as she leaned back and rubbed her forehead, "vampires, demons… we saw those. But a real hell god?"

"This is the first time I've heard of something like this in this dimension" said Tara.

"I believe that the Summers family should be informed about the status of Dawn Summers" said Teal'c, "however, knowing her own status may cause problems for Dawn Summers."

"Agreed" said the Colonel.

"Jack" said Daniel, "you don't think she deserves to know the truth?"

"She's human" said Major Carter as the Colonel nodded his head, "in the end, that's what matters. If this Order sent Dawn to Buffy in the other reality, then they sent her to both Faith and Buffy in this reality. Two sisters who could protect her. But if she knows about who she is… can you imagine the things that she already goes through as a teenager."

And if you add being the Key" said Daniel as he nodded his head, "you're right."

"That's what Captain Willow told me too" said Willow, "she didn't take it too well."

"Willow Rosenberg, is Glory very powerful?"

"I'd have to guess so" said Willow as she looked at the Jaffa, "more powerful than Buffy and Faith, than any Slayer.. I'd say."

"Sam" said Tara, "yesterday you told me how the dialling computer assigns a code to destinations, right?"

"Yeah" said the Major as Tara looked at Willow and smiled. The redhead's eyes went wide as well when she realised what she was trying to say.

"Major" said Willow, "when Captain Rosenberg showed up in Buffy's living room, she gave us a gate address… I didn't know it then.. but she told us that I'll know what it was when the time came. What if it's a planet that we could Gate Ben to, you know; To keep him, and Glory, away from Dawn?"

"What's the address?" asked Major Carter.

Willow closed her eyes and thought back to the day that her counterpart appeared in Buffy's living room. She then recalled the alpha-numeric sequence and told the Major about it. Major Carter then nodded before turning to Colonel O'Neill to tell him that they should check out the planet before they could even think about sending Ben through.

"If Glory needs brains to survive" said the Major as Colonel nodded, understanding the implication of what she was getting at. That if the planet was populated with people, then sending Glory there would be impossible. They would then have to find another habitable planet and set up some sort of living arrangements for the human Ben so that he, and in turn Glory, wouldn't harm Dawn.

As if reading the minds of his two friends, Daniel brought up Ben and the ethics of what they were trying to do.

"The both of them have to be taken care of, Daniel" said Colonel O'Neill, "you and I know it. It's not pleasant but we're talking about a being that could bring about the end of the world, the literal end of the world."

"I'm just playing devil's advocate, Jack" said Daniel, "all I'm saying is, would we be able to sleep peacefully at night, and wake up in the morning when we realize that we just left a human abandoned on another planet. Even if we did, what's not to say that the Goa'uld don't find him first? Can you imagine a Goa'uld with the powers of a real god?"

"The odds of the Goa'uld finding out about Ben are astronomical, Daniel" said Major Carter, "just to be on the safe side, we could ask the Asgard to place a version of Thor's hammer on the planet so that if any Goa'uld does come through the Stargate.. they'd be instantly killed."

"Tara?" asked Daniel as he looked at the blonde witch sitting next to him.

"I.. I.. I agree with Sam, and Jack" said Tara, "there could be magiks that may hurt Glory, but I don't know anything except for the darkest of magiks that could hold her… and that may not even work for long."

"No" said Willow as she looked at Tara, "no dark magic… no."

"I wasn't going to do it" smiled Tara as she looked at the worried look on Willow's face, "I know not to touch that stuff. I promise."

"Ok" said the Colonel as he smiled at both Tara and Willow, "we'll discuss this further with Giles, Buffy and Faith. Tara, you have any classes tomorrow?"

"Until the afternoon" said the blonde.

"Alright" said the Colonel, "I'll talk to Hammond once we get back to the SGC, and if he agrees, I'd like Daniel, and Tara to accompany me to Sunnydale tomorrow and talk to them about the options. Agreed.?"

"Yep" said Daniel and Tara together.

"Red?" asked the Colonel as he turned to look at Willow, "anything else you wanna say?"

"She…." Said Willow as she looked at Daniel and recalled what her counterpart told her about Daniel. She wanted to tell him everything; that he would die… but she also remembered Captain Willow telling her that his ascension would lead them to finding new allies. So she made a very painful decision… she decided not to tell anyone, "she showed me a ship. A shop that they built in their own reality."

"Really?" asked the Colonel, "please tell me it had phasers and was named the Enterprise?"

"Sir" said the Major, "you know that name's been taken."

"No, sir" laughed Willow, "it was called the USAF Prometheus."

"Aww… nuts" said the Colonel as he looked at Major Carter who looked at Willow stunned, "Carter?"

"I… ummm" said the Major, "I'm expanding on one of the ship designs that Willow made. I was going to show it to her in a few months once I was done."

"Major?" asked Willow as she too noticed the shocked look on her face.

"It… it was going to be a surprise for Willow" said the Major, "a design using both human and alien tech. Codenamed the X-303… Project Prometheus."

"Oh" said Willow and the others together.

TBC

 


	44. Chapter 44

**The Summers Residence, the next day; 0600 hours.**

Faith was the first to wake up that morning after her alarm had gone off; with Buffy staying in the U. dorms, and having her own training schedule that she had to follow. While Buffy stayed on-campus, Faith had taken Buffy's room when she first moved in to stay with her adopted family. The dark haired Slayer sat up on the bed and gave a small smile to herself when she recalled Joyce asking her if it would be alright if she, with Faith's blessing, adopted her. That was something that the dark haired Slayer couldn't believe, or even expect. Her background was harsh and Joyce knew it, but Faith could see in the older Blonde's eyes that she really meant every word that she was saying.

'It wasn't pity, or charity' thought Faith to herself as she smiled and looked up at the ceiling back in her room, 'she really did care.'

The day she was adopted, was the day that everything she knew changed. Her whole life with her mother was a nightmare, and with her father nowhere in sight.. she got to know exactly what kind of love her birth mother was capable of. Faith got up from her bed and walked over to the mirror where she took off her pyjama top and stood topless while looking at herself in the mirror. It was then that she'd get flashbacks about being in her room lying on her bed as she closed her eyes tight while he mother was in the other room making all sorts of sounds. She recalled that her own mother would offer her up to the clients, and while some had utterly refused the offer; they still didn't do anything to get her out of that situation. All Faith could do was stay in bed the entire time until she heard one of her mother's client say that he'll take the young girl. And a powerless girl was no man for large men, and she suffered.

She'd go to school, of course, but every time she made a complaint.. a social services worker would come by and her mother would seduce the man, or the woman.

'Maybe she was a witch' thought Faith to herself as she hung her head low and leaned forward and held on to the sides of the vanity table in front of her, 'an alcoholic, disgusting witch.'

Faith recalled that every time she made a complaint, it would get swept under the rug since the once she was complaining to had already been with her mother. Even though only a few police officers had been with her mother, she knew she couldn't reach out to her distant cousin. A cousin whose parents absolutely hated her own; they were the black sheep of their group.

She knew that her cousin and her parents didn't know about what took place in the Lehane home, they didn't even know about Faith. So, the dark haired young girl knew that going to the Rizzoli's was out of the question; instead, one day, she just ran away from home. It was a few years later that she felt a strange power flowing through her. And it was a few days later that she met Diana Dormer, her first Watcher… her first real mother-figure who took her in and looked after her; even home schooled her for some time. AT least until her death; this was when Faith began running again. She knew that the lied a little about herself to the others, but telling them the truth would have brought about even more stares of pity; and that was something that she didn't want. The only one that she has told the absolute truth of what she experienced was her counsellor; a kindly middle aged woman who the Slayer would visit once every week.

Faith closed her eyes at the flashbacks and leaned forward with her hands on the vanity table in front of her. She hung her head and breathed hard before she thought about everything that's changed, everything that's changed for the better.

'A single child from Southie has a family in Cali' thought Faith to herself as she opened her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror while still leaning forward, 'a sister that I tried to kill, and who tried to kill me.. well, almost did. She did put me in a coma. But our relationship is going slow, but steady. Then there's the munchkin, Dawn. I still remember her face when she came to Angel's mansion that day I said I was working for Wilkins.. she was so betrayed. That look still haunts me, and she's slow to forgive me. But it's there, she helped Joyce save me from the Council goons. I can't repay her for that, but I can try by regaining her trust. And Joyce, she saw the good in me. She met the other me… so did Dawn as well, and maybe that's what pushed her to slowly forgive me as well? Maybe she talked to the alternate Dawn who came to this reality and told her about my alternate self? HAha, alternate Dawn, I would have loved to meet her. Anyway, I never asked her that… but she's my little sister now. And I'll protect her with my life; I'll protect Dawn with my life. B, and I will protect the both of them.'

Faith then pushed herself off the vanity and walked to her closet while she took off her bottoms and kicked the clothes onto her bed. She then took out a pair of shorts and a red top before she put them on and got out of her room to freshen up. It was a few minutes later that she walked down the stairs when she heard sounds of moaning coming from the kitchen.

Smiling as she recognized who the moans where coming from, Faith grinned and sauntered into the kitchen with a grin.

"Ya know, Lil-D" said Faith as she looked at Dawn taking a bite from a large bowl of cereal, "the sound you make from eating that is just so wrong."

"Uh huh" said Dawn as she swallowed the food before picking up more in her spoon, "maybe I'm learning these bad habits from you. You do the same thing too, just so you know. I mean.. you know… from eating. I know your secret… you have your own version of the terminator."

"I don't" said Faith referring to the mixture of cereals that Dawn would have every morning stuffed together into one bowl with milk.

"Do to" said Dawn as she stuck her tongue at her adopted sister.

"Don't."

"Do."

"Don't."

"Do."

"You do, to the power of infinity" said Dawn as Faith just looked at Dawn before heading to the fridge and taking out a bottle of orange juice. The dark Slayer stuck her tongue out at Dawn before she took a drink straight from the bottle itself. The Slayer then put the packet of juice back into the fridge and close the door.

"Remember, kiddo" said Faith as she looked out from the kitchen blinds to make sure that dawn was breaking, after which she looked at the young brunette, "don't let anyone in."

"I know that" said Dawn with her arms folded across her chest as she rolled her eyes upwards, "I'm not a kid, you know. I mean.. I'm not gonna be… I saw the kick-ass me."

"Uh huh" said Faith nodding her head, "you're still a kid though."

"Well" said Dawn pouting, "I'm a kid with mom."

"Yeeeah" said Faith as she patted the young girl's shoulder as she walked past her and headed to the dining room, "eat your breakfast, and then I'll go with you and Mrs. Summers after my run. She'll drop you off at school, and me at the training place before she goes to work."

"So" said Dawn, "like usual then?"

"Uh huh" said Faith as she walked backwards and winked at Dawn before running towards the front door. Once she was outside, she jogged down the stairs before she went for a run. A run that her trainer from the Marines told her that should be done so that she could work off the stress from the previous night's Slaying with Buffy and a few personnel from the Army who would be joining the new Institute of Paranormal Research as 'consultants'.

'Our back-up' thought Faith to herself as she ran down the road as people started getting out of their homes and into their cars, 'three with me, three with B. Training on facing down vampires and demons. Gotta say though, love a good crossbow.. but can't beat an M-16 being fired at a demon's head. Neat.'

Faith and Buffy were already briefed by Giles and Major Daniels that the Watcher's Council would be providing them with mystical back-up, while the Air Force and Army provides them with technological, and tactical back-up. The both of them were told that the Initiative base would be repurposed as the base of operations for the new Institute of Paranormal Research, with the Lowell house fraternity façade being used to house future Potential Slayers if they agree to join a program, and move to Sunnydale. They were still going over the specifics, but Buffy and Faith were impressed that things were going along smoothly; so far at least.

**U.C. Sunnydale Dorms, Buffy's Room, 0700 hours.**

Buffy slowly opened her eyes as rays of the Sunnydale sun shone through her curtains and dimly lit up her room. She slowly got up and looked around at her empty room, a room that she used to share with Willow who had not gone to the Air Force Academy. The blonde Slayer looked at the empty bed across from her and gave a small smile when she recalled how excited her best friend was when she saw the Stargate activate for the first time, she remembered her own amazement at the technology when Daniel told them that the Gate was used for travel from one planet to another. It was Dawn who held on tightly to her arm when she admitted everything that had happened with her and Faith, as she too looked at the blue puddle of what seemed to be water. It was then that Dawn turned to Buffy and told her that she wanted to join the Academy. Out of the corner of her eyes, as she watched Willow put her hand through the event horizon, Buffy noticed Dawn telling Daniel and Colonel O'Neill her plans.

'I want this too' Buffy had thought to herself then, 'I want it, too… I want it…'

Now she had the chance. As she got off the bed, she knew that training with Faith had slowly mended their relationship; being her adopted sister also helped bring some kind of reconciliation.. or at least the road to it. But the both of them weren't kidding themselves. They knew that they still had a lot of work to do, but in the meantime they were working together. Their training was going better than expected with one trying to outdo the other; however Buffy wasn't doing as well in the armed combat simulations using firearms as she was with the crossbow, or axes, or even swards. Faith, on the other hand, seemed to pick up on the use of either relatively fast.

The Major had approached Buffy, took her to one side, and told her that she'll be given more training with firearms. He told her that he had been through the Stargate as a member of SG-9, and that using crossbows and axes wouldn't help against Jaffa who would be able to fire plasma weapons at her from a greater range. That if she wanted to go off-world, she needed to get on her game and get better.

The brutal honesty surprised Buffy as she looked at Faith firing a nine milimeter weapon at the relatively new firing range in the former Initiative base. Buffy knew that she had to get over her fear of the projectile weapons; so she asked Faith for help, and trained with her. That was her plan after her classes; to go back to the IPR and use the firing range, and to improve on her score.

"I have a few more months left" said Buffy to herself as she got off the bed and took off her clothes before heading into her shower, "I'll get better before then."

**Institute of Paranormal Research, Lowell House, 1230 hours.**

It was after Faith's training sessions, and Buffy's classes that the gang met with Giles in Lowell house to get briefed on the latest situation with the organization. The first contentious issue was Giles briefing Buffy, Faith, Xander and Anya on using Spike in their team. When the both of them started to complain, with Faith saying that he's a vampire; and Buffy saying that he's been trying to kill her since he came to Sunnydale. However, Giles said that he had already talked to Major Daniels, General Hammond and some members of the committee about this and they agreed that as long as his chip was working, that they could use the man.

"But if he goes off the rails" said Faith with her arms folded over her chest staring at Giles, "he's dusted."

"I'm with that" said Buffy as she looked at Giles.

"Same here" said Xander.

"We've already determined that he could harm demons, and other vampires" said Giles as he recalled the times that Spike had been sent, under guard, to fight with some of the recruits, "and we need more of that; People with experience who could train any new Potential Slayers that the Council finds and send our way."

"But they can refuse, right?" asked Anya as everyone looked at her, "I mean, will they be forced to have a Watcher, or will they be forced to join this… I guess organization we're trying to get off the ground."

"They have the option" said Giles, "but with so many out there… we'll have to be careful that we don't take too many.. to soon."

"Are they safe, though?" asked Buffy, "I mean.. even if they don't know, I'd think that they'll be safe.. right?"

"No one's safe. B" said Faith, "honestly, any of them could die today.. tomorrow… a year from now. Anything from a fall or getting hit by a bus. Maybe we talk to three or four potentials, bring them in if they agree?"

"That's the idea" said Giles as he sat on a chair, "find five potentials. Approach their parents with the consent forms and tell them that they've been chosen for….. you know. We're still coming up with a good reason. If all else fails, then we tell them the truth…."

"You mean go all School of Gifted Youngsters on them?" asked Xander, "you know… like the comics?"

"Oh" said Faith as she pointed at Xander with her eyes wide open, "yeah… yeah.. that's cool. G-man?"

"Hey" said Xander in horror as he looked at Faith and pointed at Giles, who just took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead, "G-man's my nickname for the guy."

"Children" said Giles as Faith was about to say something, "another time?"

"Fine" said Faith, "what do we do about Angel? I mean.. if we have Spike on our team; as it is… what do we do about him?"

"You mean other than have you arrow him again?" mumbled Buffy.

"Faith, Buffy" said Giles as he watched Faith turn around and opened her mouth to say something to Buffy before she was interrupted by the older Watcher, "enough."

"Sorry" said Buffy as she glanced at her adopted sister before she looked at Giles who told them that he had already talked to the man. That he agreed to meet with both someone form the committee and the military so that they would have Angel Investigations under the umbrella of the IPR.

"Meaning that they'd be getting support as well in L.A" said Xander as Giles nodded his head.

"And that's not all" said Giles as he sighed, "I know that I'm part of the old guard of Watchers, and… and although I'm not going anywhere.. this new organization won't be headed up by me."

"What?" asked Buffy as he looked at her Watcher, and then at a shocked Faith, "Giles?"

"It's not politically viable to have someone from the old order lead the face of a new generation" said Giles to a surprised audience, "I've been in talks with General Hammond, the President and the Chairperson of the Committee and, while my initial recommendation was going to be Wesley…"

"Oh hell no" said Faith as she shook her head, "I remember what he tried to do and…"

"He was doing his job, Faith" said Giles, "but both he and Angel recommend someone else. And I do agree that this person would appeal to others, and according to the both of them.. she's capable of something like this. I'll be here to advise her while at the same time I'll be Faith's Watcher."

"That's fine with me" said Faith as she nodded at Giles, "don't bring him close to me…."

"He'd like to apologize, Faith" said Giles, "but it's up to you if you want to see him."

"Hold on" said Buffy and Xander together as Giles turned to look at them.

"Giles" asked Xander, "who did Deadboy and English recommend."

"You know her pretty well" said Giles.

"Oh no" said Buffy with her eyes wide open, "don't tell me…"

"You'll be leaving for the Academy in a few months, Buffy" said Giles, "dealing with a friend and an ally who helped us save the world should be a problem."

"Who?" asked Xander.

"Cordelia" said Buffy softly as Xander looked at the Slayer before looking at Giles again.

Just as he was going to open his mouth, there was a knock on the front door.

"Faith?" asked Giles as he put his glasses back on and looked at the door as Faith opened it while Joyce, Colonel O'Neill, Daniel and Teal'c walked into the room.

"Mom?" said Buffy confused.

"Colonel?" asked Giles.

"Giles" said the Colonel, "we need to talk. It's important… is there somewhere we could go where all of us can have some privacy?"

"Yes" said Giles, "what's going on."

"That's what I would like to know too" said Joyce as she looked at the Colonel.

"Trust me" said the Colonel as he looked at Joyce, and then at everyone else, "this information cannot go out of this circle. That's why we need somewhere secure."

"Follow me" said Giles as they headed towards the elevator that would lead to the former Initiative base. They were completely unaware of what the Colonel was going to tell them, the greatest shock that any of them would ever receive.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city. A young blonde woman looked out at the bright light that swept over Sunnydale and smiled. It was another day in the one month since she moves to the city, and all she could think about was her search for her Key.

TBC.

 


	45. Chapter 45

**Lowell House, Institute of Paranormal Research HQ, 1245 hours.**

Once the group had gotten out of the secret elevator, they walked towards the lower level.. the same lower level that SG-1 had been to the first time. They walked through the door and into the staircase from where they could see recruits being trained by officers from the Army and the Marines, recruits who would be providing support for both Buffy and Faith, and eventually the initial five selected Potential Slayers. The small group walked down the stairs and then towards anther hallway where they entered a room that had a long table in the middle of the room.

Once everyone had walked into the room, it was Teal'c who closed the door before he sat next to Tara while the others took their own seats with Buffy seated next to Joyce, and Faith seated next to Daniel and Giles. The Colonel then sat at the head of the table next to Giles and told everyone that they were expected one more arrival, and that she should be arriving very soon. That the last they heard, she was already at the Sunnydale Army Base.

"Cordy?" asked Xander as the Colonel nodded his head.

"Yea" he said, "she was supposed to be coming in tomorrow, but… but we just came across something important that we need her here right now. She's already been given the report on the situation, so we'll begin without her."

"Alright" said Giles, who was clearly surprised about the turn of events, especially since he didn't know about it in the first place, 'but whatever it is, it was urgent enough for a face to face. And with Cordelia being the administrator of the IPR… then… yes, I have to get used to all of this. Even though I agreed to it.'

"Giles" said the Colonel as he broke the Watcher's train of thought, "I'm sorry about not telling you this over the phone, but it's too dangerous and… well, the situation calls for something llike this to be discussed face to face. Miss Chase has already read the file on this, and discussed it with Major Davis who'll be escorting her here. Now it's your turn to know what's going on… all of you."

"Ok" said Joyce as she leaned forward.

"Yesterday" said Daniel as he leaned forward after putting his hands in front of him on the table, "we got a call from Willow at the Air Force Academy asking to see Jack. So all of us, including Tara, went to the Academy to see here since she said that there was something important she needed to share with us. Something that could potentially end the world, literally."

"I thought Colorado Springs doesn't have a Hellmouth?" asked Xander as he looked at Giles who shook his head.

"It doesn't" said Giles before he turned to the Colonel and asked him what did Willow have to say.

"It was more like Captain Rosenberg leaving a message for Cadet Rosenberg" said the Colonel as Buffy looked at Faith, and then at the Colonel.

"What?" asked the both of them.

"What they said" replied Xander as he pointed at both Faith and Buffy, "and, huh?"

"The Willow from the other reality left a post hypnotic message for our Willow" said Tara, "everything she said… everything she told us was the truth."

"What you're about to hear will seem unbelievable" said Colonel O'Neill as Xander interrupted him.

"We deal in the unbelievable" he said with a shrug, "how bad can it be?"

"This beats them all" said Daniel as the Scoobies all looked at him before he leaned forward, "but… just keep an open mind."

"Alright" said Giles.

"Tara?" said the Colonel as he looked at the blonde witch and nodded her his head.

She then told an astonished group about what their Willow had told them, that Dawn was really the key and that a god known as Glory was looking for her. Giles eyes went wide when Tara told everyone that according to Captain Willow, that if Dawn's blood was spilt over a certain area, and at a certain time then all walls between Earth and every hell dimension that existed would be cut open. She continued by saying that it's very possible that hell could bleed into their dimension.

"Blood magic" said a stunned Giles as he stood up, and paced the floor as everyone looked at him, "Oh dear lord…. Tara…. Are you sure? Is Willow sure?"

"Yes" said Tara as she glanced at a confused Colonel O'Neill, Joyce, and the Scoobies, "I'm sorry but there are some things that I didn't want to say in front of Willow, and I felt it would be better if I said it in front of Mr. Giles and…. I'm sorry."

"Tara?" asked Colonel O'Neill.

"Tara Maclay" said Teal'c, "please continue."

"If Dawn's blood opens the dimensional walls" said Tara as she looked at Joyce, Faith and Buffy before looking at the table in front of her, not wanting to look at the looks of horror that was sure to be etched on the faces of the three women, "the only way that the walls would close is if the blood from Dawn stops flowing."

"Then we just patch her up" said Colonel O'Neill as he looked at Tara's shaking head. He then looked at Giles who had his eyes closed and was leaning against the wall while the others just looked at each other confused, at least until Tara said what everyone else didn't want to think, or say.

"Dawn's blood has… has to… to… be drained said Tara softly, "just stopping the flow won't be enough."

"It's very powerful magic, Colonel" said Giles, "if Dawn…."

"Stop" said Buffy as she stood up with tears in her eyes as she looked at Colonel O'Neill, Giles, Joyce and then Faith, "you.. you're telling me… telling us that my sister, Faith's sister is.. is a lie? Everything I have about her, everything we did… everything we experienced with her… it's a lie? She…. It… I don't know.. I have memories where Dawn super glued my feet to my shoes… you telling me those were all lies?"

"No" said Colonel O'Neil; as he shook his head, "from what we were told, those memories are real… they happened, but they're still fake."

"Buffy" said Daniel, "it's the emotions tied to those memories that make it real. Mrs. Summers, how did you feel when Dawn took her first steps or said her first word?"

"I.. I was ecstatic" said Joyce as she laughed and cried, "Hank was there, Buffy was there as she held Dawn's tiny hands. I remember Dawn laughing as she took one step followed by another. Then Buffy let go and Dawn ran to me. I remember her first words were 'Bufmy'… Buffy was laughing, I have that on video. I have the pictures… Jack, I have the pictures."

"Captain Rosenberg said that these monks, this Order of Dagon has the power to change energy to matter" said the Colonel as Anya whistled.

"Wow" said Anya, "that's a lot of magical power, and I'm guessing that means they affected reality itself?"

"Yes" said Daniel.

"I've heard about monks who could do that during my days as a vengeance demon" said Anya, "but I thought they were just stories. So they really did exist."

"I.. I can try and find out more about them" said Giles as the Colonel nodded his head.

"Buffy, Faith, Mrs. Summers" said Tara as she got up from her seat and walked to the three of them, "Willow said that Dawn's human. In her reality, Dawn was sent to the Slayer by the monks so that she could be protected. Willow told us that Dawn doesn't know who she really is, she really does think that she's Buffy and Faith's sister, and Mrs. Summers' daughter. There are now two Slayers in this world, two people who can protect her."

"She's got me" said Faith as she leaned back, "doesn't matter if the memories are false or not, she's human… and she's my sister."

"Even if she could bring about the end of days" said Anya as everyone looked at her, "it's the truth. If this Glory's out there then Dawn should be taken out of Sunnydale.. maybe to France or Italy."

"No" said Buffy softly, "she stays where she can be protected. Is Willow absolutely sure?"

"Yea" said Tara as she closed her eyes, "there's one more thing, she gave us Glory's weakness and.. and the reason why we need to take care of Glory as fast as possible."

"Other than the world ending implications you mean?" asked Xander as Tara nodded her head while the others looked on. Giles could see that Colonel O'Neill, Daniel and Teal'c were looking down at the table and that's when he knew that he was going to hear some very bad news.

"Willow's alternate told her that in defeating Glory in her reality" said Tara, "look.. in her reality, the Portal was already opened. Dawn's blood was spilt and the portal was open, and to close it… Buffy sacrificed herself to close it."

"What?" asked Joyce as she looked at Buffy while the blonde Slayer could only look at Faith with her eyes opened wide; all the while Faith closed her eyes and hung her head, "how? I mean… if Dawn's blood…."

"Dawn has Buffy's blood" said Giles as she came to a realization before he grabbed his seat with his trembling hands and sat down, "even if you can change energy to matter…"

"You need a catalyst" said Anya in shock as she looked at Giles, who looked back at her, "the catalyst could have been Buffy's blood. That's why the portal closed."

"It's a joke" said Buffy softly, "a sick…"

"B" said Faith as she grabbed Buffy's hand. She then looked at the red eyed blonde Slayer and told her in no uncertain terms that no one was going to die, not Buffy.. and certainly not Dawn.

"I've seen what could happen" said Tara as everyone turned to face the blonde witch, "it was a dream.. or a nightmare. The day we went for Willow's in-processing into the Academy. I…. I had this dream that I didn't pay any attention to at the time. But after what Willow said, I… I didn't want to say anything in front of her but.. but…goddess… I saw everything."

"Tara" sad Colonel O'Neill as she held on to the blonde's hand, "what did you see?"

"A junkyard" said Tara as she closed her eyes and recalled her dream, "I saw Faith and Buffy fighting a blonde woman in a red dress. I saw Faith firing missiles at her, trying to take her down while she told Buffy to get the kid."

"Dawn" said Buffy.

"I… I think so" said Tara, "I couldn't see her face, she was so high up….. but… we failed. Faith did everything she could…. But… the portal opened up. I saw… I saw dragons, demons come out of it. Then I heard a scream from above, I heard Faith shouting at Glory before she looked up and shouted. I looked up and saw Buffy jump off a… I think it was a tower of some kind, before she went through the portal. It closed and then I saw Buffy's body fall right in front of me. I.. I thought it.. it was just a nightmare but…."

"How do we kill it?" asked Joyce as everyone looked at the woman upon hearing the rage in her voice, "Jack? Giles? Daniel?"

"Captain Rosenberg claimed that Glory's primary weakness is that she is currently in a human body" said Teal'c as the door to the room they were in opened, and Cordelia walked in wearing simple trousers and a shirt, followed by Major Davis in his dress blues and carrying a small briefcase.

"Miss Chase" said the Colonel as he shook Cordelia's hand before the young woman looked at the Scoobies, and then back at the Colonel, "I take it you've been read in on everything?"

"Yes" said Cordelia as she recalled her shock and surprise at reading the classified portion of the file she received on the Stargate Program, "amazing stuff."

"Cordy?" said Buffy as Cordelia turned and looked at the blonde Slayer.

"Buffy" she said, "I'm read in on everything, including what you plan on doing. But for right now, we're here to discuss Glory and what to do about Dawn. Mrs. Summers, I'm sorry that we've had to meet again like this."

"It.. it's alright" said Joyce.

"Giles, Xander, Anya" said Cordelia as she nodded her head at them before grinning at Xander who stuck his tongue out at him. Cordelia then turned to Giles and asked where they were in regards to Glory.

"We were about to be told about her weaknesses" replied the Watcher as Colonel O'Neill handed the floor over to Cordelia who told the group everything that was in the file, including the hellgod's relationship with Ben, in that they were one and the same. She also told them that they've already found his place of employment where the number of mentally ill had a significant jump.

"So?" said Faith as she looked up at Cordelia, "we know where he is, we know that he and Glory share the same body and that he will being about the end of the world… I… I say we get rid of him. We have to kill him."

"Faith" said Buffy as she looked at her sister, "not everything is…."

"I'm being a realist, B" said Faith as she looked at Buffy, "you think I like this? Do you? I've kill two people.. that weighs on me… one was an accident and the other was on orders; even then it was by my hands. Yeah.. and I'm moving on from that but this… we're talking about a god. A god that no matter what the both of us do, will keep on coming back. Sure you can beat up the human part of her until he's lying somewhere near death. But once he heals up, once she sucks more brains then she's coming for all of us; including Lil'D."

"I agree" said Cordelia as Buffy and Xander looked at her in shock, "Faith's right. This is an end of the world situation that no Slayer could stop. Not even two of our best Slayers together… fighting the Master is one thing… but a god? If Ben can be taken out, either killed or relocated, then I say go for it. But I assume that my concerns with relocation are the same as yours Colonel?"

"Yea" said Colonel O'Neill.

"Relocation?" asked Giles.

"Yes" said the Colonel as he nodded at Major Davis who opened his briefcase and took out a few files, "you're being given non-disclosure documents to sign. Some of you have already signed it, but the rest of you need to know that revealing anything you're about to hear will mean that you'll be committing treason against the United States government and her allies. We'll talk about the details later, in the meantime.. we have to deal with the Glory-Ben situation before anything else."

"Alright" said Giles as he looked at Joyce who nodded her head before he signed the pieces of paper, along with Faith, Xander and Anya. Once they were done, they handed the NDA's to Major Davis who then nodded to Colonel O'Neill. It was Daniel who explained a brief explanation of the Stargate, and the various humans who live on other planets as Slaves and hosts to the Goa'uld.

"Holy crap" said Faith as she looked at Giles, who in turn looked at Daniel and then at Cordelia.

"I'm still processing this" said Cordelia as she shrugged her shoulders, "and I'm guessing that everything would really sink in once this whole Glory mess is done."

"Giles" said Daniel as he looked at the stunned Watcher, "I'd gladly talk to you more about this later but… for now…"

"Ri… right" said Giles, still shocked, "Glory."

"Ok" said Buffy, "now that everyone knows about the Stargate, why don't we just send Ben to an uninhabited world? HE could cause no harm there and…."

"The problem comes when one of these snakes finds that planet, B" said Faith as she looked at Buffy, and then at Colonel O'Neill, "right?"

"Yea" said the Colonel, "we've already had an extensive discussion about this relocation yesterday… and… at least in our opinion, it's a bad idea."

"I agree" said Anya as Xander looked at her, "Glory needs to be gotten rid off. She's too dangerous to have running around on Earth… or on any other planet. It's like leaving someone on a deserted island.. someone that you absolutely hate.. oh which reminds me. When I was a vengeance demon, someone actually wanted me to leave their cheating husband on an island of monsters that…"

"Anya" said Giles as everyone looked at her.

"Sorry" said Anya, "got a little out of control there, "but what I meant to say was that if anyone manages to pick that someone up from that island, and that someone has the powers of a god.. then that someone will come back and kill everyone in revenge."

"Anya, I…" said Buffy as Faith put her hand on her sister Slayer's shoulder.

Faith then turned to Buffy and told her that if one of the Goa'uld parasites got a hold of Ben and Glory, then they could bring unimaginable chaos to the galaxy.

"Can you imagine, B?" asked Faith, "they'll know everything about the Hellmouth, magic.. all of that with the power of a real god."

"Galactic level destruction" said Xander as he looked at Anya, "a god with a never ending buffet of humans, and alien technology to boot."

"Buffy" said Tara, the gentlest person that Buffy had met, "if she leaves that planet, chances are that she'll be controlled by a parasite. It will know that she's near invincible and she'll have a never ending supply of Jaffa to feed off. The parasite can use her body to basically take over the whole galaxy…. Eventually it could lead to Earth being enslaved under Glory's foot. Even if she doesn't ever find that Dawn's the key… it's not worth the risk keeping her alive."

"Mom?" said Buffy as she turned to Joyce who had her eyes closed, "please tell me that…."

"I want him dead" said Joyce as she looked at the Colonel and Cordelia, "if he, and this Glory are coming after Dawn, Faith, or Buffy…. I want him or her gone."

"B" said Faith as she looked at her sister, "if you're joining the Academy to do this, to go through the Stargate.. then you know you're fighting a war. You'll be killing people who threaten this planet… hell, this galaxy. That's something you can't escape. I'm going to be blunt, but if you think that you can't kill this Ben person, the same Ben who's coming after Dawn, then I seriously think you need to rethink going to the Academy."

"Why.. you…" said Buffy as she stood up as Faith stood up after her.

"If you're going just so that you can follow Red out of here" said Faith, "then you're doing it for the wrong reason. If you're going to the Academy to run away from your responsibility as a Slayer, instead of for making a difference in another way… then I really don't think you should be going. You'll have to kill, B… like it or not.. you have to kill humans. I don't know if that's why your having a problem firing a gun.. maybe you think that… I don't know what you're thinking really.. but…"

"It's all our survival, Buffy" said Giles, "most importantly, it's for Dawn's survival. She's your sister."

"She's human, Buffy" said Daniel, "and Glory's going to find out that she's under your, and Faith's, protection sooner or later."

"Buffy, Faith" said Cordelia with a look of seriousness on her face, "I never thought I'd be making a major decision such as this on my first day, but I want Ben Wilkinson taken out. Sending him through the Stargate will possibly create a greater danger for the galaxy, and having him survive in Sunnydale will bring about danger to all of us. So, for the protection this planet, this galaxy… I want him taken out with extreme prejudice."

"Got it, I'll take care of…." said Faith as she nodded her head before Buffy grabbed her hand.

"I… I'll do it" said Buffy as she looked at Faith, "I'll do it. I'll kill him."

TBC.

 


	46. Chapter 46

**Lowell House, Institute of Paranormal Research, 1345 hours.**

Everyone just looked at Buffy as she stood up and said that she would be the one to do it, that she would be the one to kill Ben. They had all just learnt about Dawn being the Key, and the hellgod known as Glory going after the Key.. or in this case, the vessel containing the Key; a vessel that Glory had no idea who, or what, it was. Giles and Joyce looked down as a panting Buffy who kept on repeating that she'll be the one to kill Ben, that if it would really protect Dawn and the world.. then she'll kill the human so that the god may die.

The Colonel could only look at Buffy as she looked at everyone and then looked at Faith, who put her hand on Buffy's shoulder.

"I'll kill him, B."

"No" said Buffy as she looked at Faith, and then at Cordelia before looking at the Colonel, "I'll do it. I.. I really need to do this. Just give me one of those beam things that you shot one of those Council guys with, you know… the stun thing that took out the one that tried to take out Daniel in the hospital."

"A Zat'nik'tel" said Teal'c as Buffy nodded her head.

"Yeah" said Faith as she snapped her finger and pointed at Teal'c, "that thing. You have two? I'll go with Buffy."

"Faith" said Buffy as the dark haired Slayer stood up and turned towards the blonde Slayer, "I can do this on my own."

"Yeah, I know you can and I know that you said you will" said Faith as she shrugged her shoulders, "to me, that means you're willing to kill to protect the planet. 'Sides I'm scared that you'll miss the target…. Or maybe you'll hit him after six tries.. you know."

"Faith" said Buffy as Cordelia interrupted the both of them.

"Faith and Buffy, I'm assigning the both of you to take care of this situation" said the dark haired young woman before she turned to Colonel O'Neill, "Am I able to assume that the Air Force will provide them with this Zatnikthingy?"

"Just Zats" said Daniel as Cordelia nodded her head.

"And yea" replied the Colonel, "we've got a few with us right now, while the IPR with be getting a few more later that would be kept on the premises for emergency purposes only."

"Neat" said Xander, "I mean not so neat on the killing of Ben, but.. yeah…. Against the Vamps, it's neat."

"I assume that we'll be trained?" asked Giles as the Colonel nodded his head before the Watcher turned to Daniel and asked if they could talk more about the Stargate over some tea.

"Definitely" said Daniel as he nodded his head.

"Alright" said Cordelia as she looked at everyone, "I guess this is the end of our first meeting….. umm.. yeah. Colonel, I leave it to you, Buffy and Faith to take care of Ben. As for Dawn, Is there any way to keep tabs on her… I mean to make sure that she's kept safe."

"Cordy" said Xander as he and Buffy looked at the young woman in concern.

"She's a human being that could potentially destroy the planet" said Cordelia as she looked at everyone, and then settled her eyes on Joyce, "Mrs. Summers, I've known Dawn since you guys came to Sunnydale.. and while she's never returned some of my make-up… I want to see her safe. And having a way to track her discreetly, in the event that some other nutcase tries to open a portal or something, would be useful."

"I agree" said Joyce, "but I think we should tell her that we're doing it for her safety, that since she's the sister of two Slayers.. that she'll be a target."

"Agreed" said Cordelia as she turned to Colonel O'Neill, "Colonel?"

"Carter and the eggheads at the Pentagon have been working on subcutaneous transmitters" said the Colonel as he looked at Cordelia and then at everyone else, "we can implant the chips into the forearms and tined it to a frequency specific to the IPR. And of course we'll get you a way to track everyone within the city or, once it's viable, nationwide."

The Colonel then showed everyone his forearm and pointed to a tiny bruise before tell them that everyone that worked at Stargate Command had the chip implanted so that in case anything happened, they could be tracked safely and securely.

"Sweet" said Faith, "so it knows what I'm doing?"

"No" said Daniel, "just where you are."

"Neat" said Faith.

"Giles?" asked Cordelia as the old man nodded his head before she turned back to the Colonel and asked him to implant the chips. It was then that she ended the meeting before she received a proper welcome from Xander as he hugged her tightly as Anya looked on, jealousy etched on her face. The Colonel had told Faith he'll wait for her outside as the whole group slowly walked out of the room, with Joyce leaving last as she turned and looked at Faith who was still seated and Buffy who was pacing the room with her hands on her head. The older blonde smiled at the two of them before she closed the door behind her, and walked with Tara and the others back to the surface.

"B" said Faith as she stood up, "if you have something to say, just say it."

"Are you really ok with this?" asked Buffy, "I mean about the Stargate and everything, are you ok with me going to the Academy and then joining the Program?"

"Listen, Sis" said Faith as she put her elbow on Buffy's should and leaned in, "whether it's being the Slayer with the IPR, or going through the Stargate… any life is better than the hell of my childhood. So yeah, if given the chance, I'll go through the Stargate… other planets, aliens… hell, that's like living in a real life Star Trek episode. But you know what? Being a Slayer's also a cool gig, and with the training and resources… plus having Mrs. S. and Dawn… it's something I never had growing up, just so you know."

"I know" said Buffy as Faith removed her elbow from Buffy's shoulder and they continued to walk towards the door, "and just so you know, you can call her mom."

"Yeah" said Faith, "I think we're all still getting used to this… but… yeah. I'll call her mom one day.. just that title's been, you know, tainted."

"Yeah" said Buffy, "sorry."

"Nah" replied Faith as she placed her hand on Buffy's back as they walked through the door and out of the room, "I guess our futures calling, huh?"

"Yeah" said Buffy as they walked down the hallway.

"Hey" whispered Faith as she leaned into Buffy as the both of them walked down the hallway, "you think Red and Tara would be open to a threesome? Cause I'm telling you… I had this dream where…"

"I do not need to hear this" sighed Buffy as she placed her fingers into her ears while Faith could only give a wide grin.

**Sunnydale Memorial, Special Needs Ward, 1435 hours.**

Ben Wilkinson was one of the junior physicians at Sunnydale Memorial, transferred to his current post in Sunnydale almost a month prior thanks to Glory; the same Glory that he unwillingly, and sarcastically would call his sister. He knew what he was, a prison for the hellgod… a prison that has lasted for twenty five years. However, he also knew that Glory has been taking control of his body for periods of time to search Sunnydale for the Key; and while he didn't share any of her memories of what she did when she was in control of his body, he did se the aftermath.

He had just gotten out of the Special Needs Ward where the hospital had kept all the mental patients that their families, or strangers, had brought into the hospital to be cared for. The vast majority of the thirty, and counting, patients did not have any family background of mental illness; instead, they were the unfortunate victims of Glory and her need to suck the mental energies of human beings.

He had just admitted the latest patient before he walked out of the ward and into a hallway before he headed to the nurses station. He kept his clipboard on the table before he talked to the nurses and then headed towards an elevator.

Once the elevator had arrived, he walked in before pressing the button for the lobby where he was going to go to the cafeteria and grab a bite to eat. Once he got out of the elevator and into the lobby, he turned to the left and followed a sign that led to the cafeteria. On the way there he noticed a car screeching into the street at the entrance of the lobby, he turned to watch what was going on and saw a dark haired young woman, wearing a pair of sunglasses and a cap, as well as a older man accompanied by a blue eyed blonde walk out of the car before they headed into the hospital. He saw the young women looking around the lobby as they walked in. He saw the two girls look at him before the blonde looked away at the reception counter. She headed there while the girl in the cap looked at him before she pulled the sunglasses down, gave him a wink, and bit her lower lip just as the older man tapped the dark haired girl on her shoulder, and pointed to the blonde who was waving them over from the reception desk.

Ben watched the young woman bite her lower lip at him before she turned around and walked away with the older man, and the blonde after they asked about something at the reception desk. The junior physician smiled before he turned and continued walking towards the cafeteria where he bought a sandwich and a bag of chips. Grabbing a seat, he ate his food as he imagined the things that Glory had done while she had control of his body and shook his head. HE knew that there was no way to get rid of her, and he knew that if she had gotten the Key.. then they would all be dead; which was why he hoped against hope that she would never find it.

However, not getting her to drain the mental energies of the innocent were much more difficult, if not impossible. He knew that Glory's army of minions would kidnap innocent people and take them to Glory in her penthouse where she would feed. He also knew that the Knights of Byzantium where searching for the Key as well, and hoped that they would get to destroy it before Glory got her hands on it.

'They've been searching for the Key since I was made Glory's prison' thought Ben to himself as he took a bite of the sandwich and looked around the cafeteria as he imagined what Glory would have done if she came out right then and there, 'the poor woman I just admitted was her latest victim, at least according to her stupid minions. My 'sister' won't be coming out for a while now… at least not now.'

Once he was done with his lunch, Ben got up and headed back to the lobby before starting his rounds. He knew that he had to meet with Dr. Smith at Ward Six before he went about his regular duties, which is what he did. He spend about three hours doing his rounds, meeting patients and helping some of the doctors before he walked back to his regular shift at the Special Needs Ward. Walking out of the elevator, he noticed that the nurses where whispering something to themselves before they stopped when Ben said hello. The young man smiled as he flirted with the nurses before he grabbed his clipboard and heading towards one of the rooms where the patients were being kept.

"Oh, Ben" said one of the nurses as Ben turned around and walked backwards, "looks like some of guests came to check up on Mrs. Williams."

"Huh, neat" said Ben as he gave the nurse a thumbs up sign before turning around and walking to the second room so that he could give an update to whoever it was who came to see the old woman. Opening the door to the room, he saw the young women from earlier talking to the older man that they had come in with, while the dark haired one held the hand of Mrs. Williams who was spouting some rant.

"Shhh.." said the dark haired young woman as she looked away from the older man, and then saw Ben at the door before giving him a smile. He saw he blonde lean in towards the old woman and fix her hair as she tried to calm her down.

"It'll take some time" said Ben as he walked towards the bed and looked at the older man, and the two young women, "she's… well, she's your relative?"

"Yes" said the older man, "she's my mom's older cousin. Sorry… my name's Jack, Jack O'Neill."

"Ben… Ben Wilkinson" he replied as he reached for the Colonel's hand and shook it before Faith and Buffy introduced themselves as the Colonel's nieces.

"She hasn't had family visit her" said Ben as he stepped back and looked at the old woman, "but I'm glad to know that at least there's someone for her."

"Yeah" said Faith, "she'll be glad that the world won't end."

"Excuse me?" asked Ben as he looked at Faith who was walking towards him and walked past him. All the while she was looking straight back at him just as a predator looks at a prey. He turned around and saw Faith stand at the door before she put her hands in her pockets.

"You know… end of the world… stuff that happens when…" said the Colonel as Ben turned around and stepped back before putting his hands up.

"Listen" said Ben, "I'd be happy to have you examined for…"

"Stop it" said Buffy softly as she released the old woman's hand and let it fall to the bed before looking at Ben, "does this mean anything to you? Glory? The Key?"

"How.. how do you know?" asked Ben as he stepped back again and looked up at the camera in the corner of the room. His eyes went wide when he noticed that the red light was out, before he heard a strange sound and then turned around looking at Faith who was pointing a strange weapon at him, "wait.. wait."

"We're Slayers" said Faith as she pointed at herself and Buffy who had her hands on her waist while Ben's eyes went wide even further, "you and Glory were…."

"I can stop her, I can…"

"Not according to our source" said Buffy.

"And judging from the jump in the mentally ill that have been admitted" said the Colonel as he looked around and then pointed to the two adjacent rooms, "you really can't stop her."

"Sorry" said Buffy, "but… but.."

"I'll leave Sunnydale" said Ben, "listen.. I'll leave Sunnydale and never come back and…."

"You're too dangerous s to be kept alive" said Faith as she took a step forward, "and…"

"Look" said Ben as he put his hands up, inching his way back into the middle of the room, I can help you. Glory's minions will still go after the Key… Slayers or not… there's also the Knights of Byzantium and…"

He was looking at Buffy when she suddenly reached behind her back and took out the same weapon that Faith was holding. Ben shook his head as Buffy just looked at him, before closing her eyes as a blue beam of energy was fired from her weapon and shot towards him. Before he knew it, Ben felt an electric charge hit him. The next thing he knew before he fell onto the cold floor was Faith, Buffy and the Colonel walking towards him.

"You're too dangerous" said Faith as she aimed the Zat at the stunned body of Ben before she squeezed the bottom part of the weapon as another beam shot out and killed the man, "I hope you find peace now."

The Colonel kneeled down and checked for a pulse. He put his fingers on the man's neck and shook his head before looking at the camera's again.

"Huh" said the Colonel, "they still haven't come to check up on what's wrong, we should make a complaint."

"Yeah" said Faith sarcastically as she put the weapon down, and deactivated it before putting it into the back of her jeans, and covered it with the black jacket that she was wearing. Buffy did the same thing as well as she put the weapon into the back of her jeans and covered it with her jacket. As the two Slayer placed their hands on their sides, the Colonel noticed that their hands were slightly trembling. It was a few seconds later that Faith headed to the door and looked at the Colonel.

"Faith" said the Colonel, "after this, we need to…"

"Yea" said Faith as she noticed the trembling of her hands and rolled them into fists, "I'm ready."

"Go" said the Colonel as Faith pushed the doors open hard and screamed for help while running towards the nurses station.

In the meantime, the Colonel stood up and moved next to Buffy who also noticed her hands trembling. She them rubbed her hands together as she looked at the dead body of Ben lying on the floor.

"Buffy" said the Colonel, "sometimes there is no choice. I know that you'll keep on asking yourself if Ben was an innocent in all this. But…"

"But" said Buffy softly, "he would have eventually turned into Glory again and he would have destroyed the world, he would have destroyed Earth, he would have killed Dawn, Faith, Mom…. I would have died."

"The planet will continue spinning" said the Colonel as Buffy nodded her head before they headed out of the room just as nurses rushed past them. They walked towards Faith before looking back at the room. It was then that the three of them walked into the elevator, away from the incident that next morning's paper would carry the headline, 'Promising young physician dead from a massive heart attack.'

TBC.

 


	47. Chapter 47

**Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, 1500 hours.**

Out of all the things that Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter had told Willow to expect from attending the Academy, the greatest fear that the redhead had was when they said that in was mandatory for all members of the cadet wing to participate in either intramural sports, or at the intercollegiate level. The two officers saw the fear in the redhead's eyes while they were talking to her in the SGC Mess Hall a few weeks before her in-processing, and tried to hide their grins. Willow had told them that she was bad at sports of any kind, and that she had only made a name for herself in the Sunnydale High Chess Club.

"That the extent of my sports experience" said Willow as her voice changed into a high pitched squeak, "I mean yeah, chess technically isn't a sport but it uses the mind extensively so technically it can be counted as a sport but then again, I mean.. sports… what happens if I…."

"Easy Red" said the Colonel as he put his hands up, while the Major looked down and tried to hide the smile that was forming on her face, "you've got time. You can pick something relatively simple, or something that you can use to challenge yourself. Either way, it'll be fitted around your schedule."

"Willow" said the Major as she took a sip of her coffee, "the Colonel's right, you've got time to decide. There aren't any easy sports, so take something that you think would excite you."

"Right" said Willow as she sighed and placed her elbow on the table with her face in the palm of her hand and looked at the Colonel and at the Major, "sure they don't have chess?"

"Very sure" said the Major as she grinned at Willow and took another sip of her coffee.

It was a few days before her in-processing that Willow had chosen her particular sport, something that she had rarely done before and hoped that she could hold out. She had followed the Colonel's advice and had taken something that she could challenge herself with; soccer.

As luck would have it, she and Colleen had taken the same intramural sport and had just finished a training session as they headed to the sidelines panting, and bent down to take some bottles of water. They just had a training game before the next scheduled match and everyone had finished the session panting and sweating. Willow was talking to Colleen when she looked over her roommate's shoulder and noticed a familiar face standing at the far corner of the pitch.

"Hey, Colleen" said Willow as she put down her bottle and nodded at the woman who was standing at the far corner, "I'll be right back."

"Huh?" asked Colleen as she turned around and looked at the woman, "who's that?"

"My… umm.. my sponsor" said the redhead as she patted the other young woman's shoulder, "you wanna wait for me?"

"Yeah, sure" said Colleen as she sat down and started to take off her soccer boots while Willow ran over to the woman.

"Cadet" said Major Carter with a smile as Willow came up to her and stood up straight, "at ease."

"Ma'am" said Willow as she gave the Major a grin.

"How was practice?" asked the Major as she looked over Willow's shoulder and then at the redhead again before the both of them walked along the sidelines.

"We're alright" Willow replied, "the game's in two days so…. Yeah."

"You'll do great" said the Major as Willow nodded with a smile, "I got a call from Colonel O'Neill in Sunnydale."

"Oh?" asked the redhead as they continued walking while she looked at the Major, "is…."

"Ben's been taken care of" said the Major as Willow breathed a sigh of relief, "Buffy and Faith worked together on taking him down. Buffy fired the first shot, while Faith fired the second. The both of them are a bit on edge after what happened but the Counsellor will be talking to the both of them tomorrow."

"We're all safe then, ma'am?" asked Willow as the Major nodded her head.

"So is Dawn."

"Thank you for letting me know" replied Willow as the Major nodded before they stopped. The Major told Willow that they'll come by and see her soon, before she left while Willow ran back to Colleen who was sitting on the grass and waiting for the redhead.

"Everything alright?" asked Colleen as she looked up at Willow who was smiling and taking off her boots.

"Yeah" said Willow as she put on her regular shoes, "I think everything's going to be alright."

**The Summers Residence, Sunnydale, at the same time.**

Joyce was worried sick about both Buffy and faith, her biological and adopted daughter respectively. All she could do was sit at the island in the kitchen while Tara poured a cup of tea for the older blonde. Once the brown liquid was poured into the cup, the blonde witch then turned and put it on the island in front of Joyce before she want and sat next to the older woman. Joyce then thanked her for everything before she took a sip of the tea while they sat silently together.

It was just the both of them in the house with Giles and Daniel talking about the Stargate back at the IPR, Teal'c out in the backyard meditating and Dawn still at school. It wasn't too long before Tars and Joyce looked at each other when they heard the sound of a vehicle drive up to the driveway, they then got up from the chairs behind the island and rushed to the opening door as Faith, Buffy and Colonel O'Neill walked into the house.

"Buffy? Faith?" asked Joyce as she noticed the look that the two Slayers gave each other before they looked back at the two women before them. Joyce noticed the haunting look in Buffy's eyes and went to immediately hug her daughter while Faith took a step back. Noticing what Faith had done, Joyce reached out while holding Buffy, who was holding on to Joyce while her shoulders trembled. Faith looked at the outstretched hand, and then at Joyce who was nodding at her before she took a few steps forward as Joyce pulled the dark haired Slayer in as well while the Colonel could only look on as he heard a sniffle from Buffy. He then looked up at Tara, and then at Teal'c who had come down the hallway and into the foyer.

"O'Neill" said Teal'c as the Colonel nodded his head.

"Dawn's safe" said Buffy softly as she continued to hug Joyce and Faith put an arm around her shoulder, "she's safe. Glory won't harm her, ever."

"It was something that needed to be done, Buffy Summers" said Teal'c as he sensed the anguish in Buffy's voice, "Ben Wilkinson was a danger to Dawn Summer, and to the rest of the Tau'ri. It will take time, but you must now look to the future if you are to effectively protect your family and friends on this planet."

"The counsellor will be coming tomorrow to talk to you ladies" said the Colonel as Faith and Buffy stepped back from Joyce and turned towards the Colonel, "the both of you did something that was absolutely needed… it's the sucky part of what we have to do to protect everyone. But it's something that was absolutely necessary."

"I want the both of you to take a rest" said Joyce as she kissed both Faith and Buffy on their check, "I'll get some coffee, alright?"

"Yeah" said Buffy softly as she looked at her mother, and then at Faith who nodded her head. The two of them then walked up the stairs before Joyce turned around at the Colonel and asked him what happened.

"Buffy stunned Ben" said the Colonel as Joyce led them back into the kitchen, "Faith fired the second shot that killed him."

"I see" said Joyce closed her eyes.

"The both of them are upset" said Tara as she looked back at the stairs before heading to the kitchen.

"I'd be concerned if they weren't" said the Colonel as he stood at the island while Joyce and Tara sat behind the island, while Tara just stood by at the edge of the island with her hands on top of the small table, "but before he died, he revealed some information. Apparently Glory's minions are still out there somewhere, but they won't be too much trouble. There's also another group he mentioned called the Knights of Byzantium; but I'll have Giles check in on that. If they are searching for the Key, then I'd like to know what they know. The good thing is that Ben didn't give nay indication that he knew Dawn was the Key, and we can guess that these Knights and Glory's minions don't know either."

"But to be on the safe side" said Joyce, "we need to be sure."

"Yes" replied the Colonel, "I'll submit a report to Miss Chase with the recommendation that Giles find everything he can using the resources of the Council to find information on these Knights. In the meantime, we'll implant the subcutaneous transmitter into Dawn. She'll be safe."

It was a few minutes later that Faith walked down the stairs after having changed her clothes, followed by Buffy as they walked down the hallways past the staircase and walked into the kitchen where the others were sitting silently. Upon their entry into the kitchen, Joyce turned around and smiled at the both of them while Teal'c gave them a respectful bow as Faith leaned against the wall and Buffy sat next to Joyce.

"So" said Buffy as she tapped on the table, "what happens now?"

"Now" said the Colonel as he looked at Faith, and then at Buffy, "you guys take a break. Todays been a long, stressful day for the both of you especially. My recommendation? Stay in with Joyce and Dawn. Order a pizza.. and just watch silly movies. I know that the both of you will be thinking a lot about what happened, if you wanna talk then Teal'c and I are free. If you feel comfortable talking to someone else, like I told Joyce.. the shrink will be here first thing tomorrow morning."

"We…" said Buffy as she looked back at Faith who shrugged her shoulders, and then looked back at Colonel O'Neill, "I guess we'd like to talk to the shrink. I mean I know that what we did was the right thing but… I mean…"

"You did the right thing" said Joyce as she rubbed Buffy's back before she looked back at Faith and nodded at her to get closer, "and so did Faith. The both of you protected your sister, and… and with all that going on.. maybe it's better if she didn't know about all this Key business. At least not until she's much older."

"I think that's the right thing" said Tara as she leaned on the counter, "there's no way to know how she'll take it. Did the other Dawn say how she took it?"

"No" said Joyce, "I mean…"

"Sorry" said Tara, "I forgot that she didn't tell you."

"It's alright" said Joyce as she looked at Tara and then at Buffy who laid her head on Joyce's shoulder while the older blonde held on to Faith's hand as she stood next to her, "still remember that how she screamed when our Dawn saw the other Dawn."

"Wish I was there" said Faith, "that must have been epic."

"Not as epic as the other Dawn kicking Spike's ass" said Buffy as she closed her eyes.

"Joyce" said the Colonel as he looked at the older blonde, "have you seen the doctor about what Major Rosenberg told you about?"

"I've got an appointment at the end of the month" said Joyce as she put her hands around the shoulders of both Faith and Buffy, "and I've got my two girls accompanying me there."

"You know Lil'D is gonna beg you to take along" said Faith.

"She's got school" said Joyce as she looked at Faith who gave her a small smile.

"OK" said the Colonel as he rubbed his hands together, "Joyce, now that we're pretty much done… I was wondering if you had some of your famous cake?"

"Sorry, Jack" said Joyce, "will you be here until….."

Suddenly, there are a ringing sound in the entire kitchen as the Colonel reached into his pocket and took out his phone. He held his hand up asking Joyce to hold that thought before he answered the call. As the Colonel talked on the phone, the others noticed the look on his face change to one of concern before he deactivated the line. He then pressed a button on the phone before telling the others that he'll explain soon.

"Daniel" said the Colonel as the others looked on, "I need you ready to leave in five minutes, it's urgent that we leave now…. It's the SGC, someone from Abydos contacted us saying that Horus guards came through the Gate and kidnapped many Abydonians, including Kasuf. And Daniel, he said that the Goa'uld leading the group was Amonet."

"O'Neill" said Teal'c as he turned to face the Colonel who put his phone back into his pocket.

"Get ready, T" said the Colonel as he told the others that he needed to go, that they had found a possible location of Daniel's wife. He then turned to Tara and asked if she wanted to leave with them, or leave later on.

"If it's alright with Joyce, Buffy and Faith" said Tara as she looked at the two Slayers and then at the older Blonde before looking at the Colonel, "I'll leave with you; I may not be able to go off world, but I know some healing spells that'll work when you get them back to the SGC."

"We'll be alright" said Joyce as she got up and hugged Tara while the others said goodbye to Buffy and Faith, "thank Willow for me, will you?"

"I will" said Tara, "call me with what the doctor's tell you?"

"I will" replied Joyce before the tall blonde hugged Faith and Buffy while Teal'c and the Colonel shook Joyce's hand. It was then that the three of them hurried out of the house and into the awaiting car outside. The Colonel drove as fast as he legally could to pick up his best friend while Tara dialled Major Carter's phone number, and then held the device to the Colonel's ear while he drove to the IPR. Once Daniel had been picked up, they drove to the Army base where they would take the same plane that had brought them over to Sunnydale, back to Colorado Springs where SG-1 would go through the Stargate and hopefully save the Abydonians and Daniel's wife.

TBC.

 


	48. Chapter 48

**Institute of Paranormal Research, Lowell House, Sunnydale; 1500 hours.**

Cordelia was in her office as she started to slowly unpack some of the boxes she had with her. Her childhood home in Sunnydale was already auctioned off after her father had been jailed for tax evasion so the only place that she had to stay was either in one of the rooms in Lowell House, or she could get an apartment for herself somewhere in the city. With those two options in mind, the dark haired young woman looked at the four boxes; only one of which had some books that Wesley and Angel had given her, with the others being full of her clothes. Her office itself was spartan with only a couch against a wall, a large desk with all the extra's and three chairs.

'At least I have a good view' thought Cordelia to herself as she walked through the doors that led to the balcony which looked out over the front lawn, which the U. campus close by. It was a few minutes earlier that Colonel O'Neill had called to inform her that Ben was dead, and that a potential world ending situation was averted. As Cordelia leaned on the railing, she looked out and thought that her first major decision had involved killing a half human god who was ready to destroy the planet. She knew that it was a hard decision to make, but it was one that needed to be made.

She walked back into her office and sighed at the boxes again, she knew that one was destined for her office while the others were for her room.. at least until she picked one out and then she could use the Slayer strength of both Buffy and Faith to help her move them to a room. She looked at her desk, and focused on the ten plain tanned coloured folders which contained information on the first wave of Potential Slayers that they were planning on recruiting to be trained at the IPR. After the meeting with the Colonel and the others was over Giles told Cordelia that he'd hand her those files and that he'll go through them with her later in the night.

Cordelia remembered nodding her head as she walked behind her table and took a seat and looked at the folders. She told Giles that she'll get started on reading up on the Potentials while he and Daniel discussed the Stargate. Leaning back on her seat, she placed her hand on one of the files when he heard someone knocking on her door.

"Come in."

Cordelia stood up from her seat as Major Davis walked into her office with two men, one who was about her height wearing a brown shirt, BDU pants and boots; and the other one was a little bit shorter than her but wearing the same things. The Major introduced the dark haired woman to Major Daniels and told her that he was the one on charge of training the Slayers, Xander, and Anya; he then introduced her to Captain Graham who was in charge of training the new military recruits to the IPR.

"Captain Graham just joined us, Miss Chase" said Major Davis, "he used to be one of the original members of the Initiative. I believe you may have seen him at the Army base?"

"The ones that used to use this facility?" asked Cordelia as she looked at Graham, and then at Major Davis again, "does Giles and Buffy know about this?"

"Not yet" said Major Davis as he looked at the Captain, and then back at Cordelia, "we needed someone who had experience in training recruits to battle what they'll be encountering out in the field. And out of all of them, Captain Graham was the most suitable."

"Given that one tried to kidnap Willow" said Cordelia as she looked at the Captain, "and then another two tried to kidnap the two Dawn's, and tried to kill Mrs. Summers and.. what was it on the report? Oh, burn the house down."

"Yes, ma'am" said the Captain who, thanks to the alternate Willow's mental wipe of his mind, didn't realize that he was one of the masked assailants who invaded the Summers house to take the two Dawn's back to the Initiative, "I was there when Adam went rogue, and I surrendered myself peacefully to Colonel O'Neill and his team after he was put down."

"So what are you looking for, Captain?" asked Cordelia as Major Davis' phone started to ring.

Cordelia watched him pick up his phone and noticed the change in his expression as he acknowledged whoever it was on the other line.

"Miss Chase" said Major Davis after he deactivated his phone, "that was Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, and myself are needed back in Colorado."

"Trouble?" asked the young woman.

"We hope not" said the Major as he looked at the Captain who was standing to his left, and then at Cordelia again, "in regards to the Captain, we have already vetted him and despite his former allegiance to the Initiative.. he's been a model officer. From the files we've read on him, he's been involved with hunting vampires and demons, as well as training new recruits to the Initiative. He's a good fit with the IPR due to his experience in training other recruits to fight the paranormal."

Cordelia could only close her eyes and nod her head when she realized that Major Davis was right, they needed someone who had experience with training other soldiers in fighting paranormal threats. However, she also knew that Giles and Buffy would have something say about this and she was mentally readying herself for the inevitable questions from them.

"Miss Chase" said Major Davis as he nodded his head, "I'll be on my way. If you need anything…"

"I have your number" smiled Cordelia as Major Davis shook her hand before he walked out the door, leaving her alone with the two officers.

"Captain" said Cordelia as she looked at Graham, "I want weekly reports on how the recruits are taking to the training."

"Yes, ma'am" said Graham,

"Will you be taking them out?" asked Cordelia as she nodded at the window, "I mean outside.. you know.. to stake vampires?"

"Yes, ma'am" said Graham, "the first outing is scheduled in two weeks."

"Good" said Cordelia, "I've read a summary of what the Initiative did while on the way here, you do realize that we've not going to be conducting any experimentation on vampires and demons? Depending on the situation, it'll be shoot to kill. I want allies out there, and informants out there… and if they decide not to help us.. if they intend to destroy Sunnydale, or the world… then we kill."

"Yes, ma'am" said Graham as he nodded his head.

"Major" said Cordelia as she turned to Major Daniels, "how's Buffy, Faith, Xander and Anya's training going?"

"Buffy and Faith are on another category, ma'am" said Major Daniels, "they've blown the requirements for Basic Training out of the water; which is hardly surprising given their gifts. So Mr. Giles and I have developed more advanced training sessions for them. Faith's already fully recovered from her coma but she needs guidance, a lot of guidance."

"I see" said Cordelia.

"I'm not saying that she's a bad seed, ma'am" said Major Daniels, "just that I've read her file and due to what she experienced in her life, she needs more support and guidance than Miss Summers."

"She'll be getting that now thanks to her getting adopted by Mrs. Summers" said Cordelia as Major Daniels nodded his head.

"Technically speaking" said the Major, "the both of them know what they're doing, but they can still lash out at times without thinking about the best tactic needed to take down an enemy. On that, Faith is learning faster than Miss Summers."

"Given that Faith's going to be the sole Slayer in a few months" said Cordelia, "I guess that's a good thing. Maybe once Buffy gets into the Academy, she'll realize the seriousness of what she's going to be doing. I think that's what'll take for her to improve drastically on her tactics and.. you know…"

"Yes, ma'am" said Major Daniels.

"Xander and Anya?"

"Given Mr. Harris' 'experience'" said the Major in referring to Xander's memories of being a soldier during Halloween, "he's been improving week after week. As has been Miss Jenkins."

"Good" said Cordelia as there was another knock on the door. Cordelia asked whoever it was to come in. The door soon opened to reveal Giles who, upon seeing that Cordelia was occupied told her that he'll be back later on, "Giles, it's fine… there's someone I'd like for you to meet."

"Of course" said Giles as he walked back into the office before closing the door behind him. He then walked up to Cordelia and saw Major Daniels standing alongside someone he hadn't seen before. Giles nodded at the both of them before he looked at Cordelia in shock after he introduced Graham as a former member of the Initiative who was in charge of training the military recruits to the IPR, "Cordelia, I don't know about this.. I mean we've read about the Initiative and…"

"I've read the summary, Giles" said Cordelia, "and I don't like what they tried to do to our Willow, and the two Dawns but Major Davis has already assured me that Captain Graham's been vetted and he had nothing to do with the project that created Adam, or with the team that tried to take both of the Dawn's."

"But…" said Giles as he looked at Cordelia who put a hand on the older man's arm.

"He's got the skills needed to train the recruits on what they'll be facing, Giles" said Cordelia as Giles sighed, "he's faced vampires and demons before.. and I know what you're gonna say; that Buffy and Faith have faced vampires and demons and that they should be training the soldiers. I agree that they've got a lot of experience… but I doubt that these recruits will want to take orders from two civilian girls when they could take orders from one of their own who's already faced these things. It won't be long before the new recruits are brought up to speed and they'll be training alongside Faith and the others."

"I agree" said Giles as he look of his glasses, after which Cordelia told the two officers to get back to their duties before reminding Major Daniels that she needed a report of the training progress for both Slayers, Xander, and Anya. Once the two officers had left, it was only Cordelia and Giles who were left alone in the formers office. The older man took a seat across from Cordelia as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You know it's the right thing, Giles" said Cordelia as Giles looked up at Cordelia who sat down behind her desk, "we need someone like him to train the recruits."

"Given that we've got a vampire with a chip in his brain" said Giles, "I suppose we could be worse off. I can tell you that Buffy won't be happy about this, and I'd wager that neither will Faith."

"Probably" said Cordelia, "but then again, this is something that we need. I'll talk to the both of them when they come in tomorrow. Give them a break after what they just had to do, I know it couldn't have been easy."

"Joyce gave me a call after Colonel O'Neill left" said Giles, "she wanted you to know that the both of them came back safe and sound, but Ben mentioned something about Glory having minions that will still be searching for the key."

"Ok" said Cordelia, "how much of a threat you think they'll be?"

"Given that they don't know who the Key is?" said Giles as Cordelia looked at him, "plus, I can guess that without Glory to guide them that they could be aimless in their search for the Key. All in all, I'd say that they're not much of a threat, but if we do come across them…."

"Do you think that they know Ben and Glory are the same?" asked Cordelia as Giles nodded his head. That led to Cordelia leaning forward and telling Giles to take Major Daniels back to the hospital on official business. She told him to get Ben's body out of the morgue tomorrow morning once the news was out that Ben's dead, "take the body, and then…. Major Davis just gave me some details on those Zat things, apparently three shots can disintegrate a body. So I want you to handle that.. you know… getting rid of the body."

"Of course" said Giles as he nodded his head when a smile came over his face which Cordelia noticed before asking what he was thinking.

"We could just leave the notification in the paper asking for any well wishers to come to one of the many funeral homes" said Giles as he shrugged his shoulders, "And then, they'll be coming to try and take him away to wherever Glory's lair is supposed to be. We can pick them off then and there after disintegrating the body. IN the meantime, I'm perfectly sure that Glory's minions will be wondering why he, or she, hasn't come back yet. I'm sure that they'll be on the lookout for him. I'm proposing having Buffy and Faith out tonight in case we see any strange… well… creatures."

"Have Xander and Anya go instead" said Cordelia as she looked at Giles, "just a check around town. Talk to Major Daniels and come up with a plan. See if you and the others can find out anything about these minions and what they look like."

"I've got some contacts" said Giles, "I'll have Major Daniels, Xander and Anya check in with Willie at his bar. They can check up with him about these minions."

"Alright then" said Cordelia with a smile as she was ready to get up, however her smile vanished when she noticed the look on Giles' face, "there's something else, isn't there?"

"Ben also mentioned something called the Knights of Byzantium" said Giles, "I just heard about it from Colonel O'Neill after he called me."

"Dangerous?" asked Cordelia.

"I am not sure" said Giles, "I'll be checking my books, and I'll contact the Council to check up on these Knights. All I know is that they're after the Key as well, but who they are and why they're after the Key…. Well, I'll be finding that out and I'll inform you."

"Thanks" said Cordelia as she looked around her office and then at Giles, "you know, I never thought I'd be back in Sunnydale."

"You leaving the city was a surprise to us" said Giles as the young woman stood up and stretched her hands over her head.

"I wasn't much for goodbyes" said Cordelia with a shrug off her shoulder as she went to open a box while Giles stood up. Cordelia then stopped and turned around to face Giles. She told him that maybe she shouldn't wait until tomorrow to talk to Buffy and Faith, that perhaps it was better to just go visit them now and talk to them, "I also need to remind them that we need mission reports from the both of them."

"Buffy will be so excited" said Giles sarcastically as Cordelia smirked, "as will Faith. Alas, I think I'll remain here and talk to Major Daniels, before trying to find information on the Knights of Byzantium."

"Yeah" said Cordelia with her eyebrow raised and her hands folded over her chest, "you just don't wanna be there when Buffy pouts and asks you to finish her report for her."

"I don't know what you mean" said Giles as he smiled and walked away out of Cordelia's office while waving with her.

"Uh huh" said the dark haired young woman as she followed Giles out of her office, and closed the door behind her. Cordelia had just dealt with one emergency, and another two had popped up. She was going to talk to Buffy and Faith about it once she reached the Summers house, as well as telling them about Graham, along with the plans for Glory's minions and the Knights of Byzantium, 'I think I'm going to love this job.'

TBC.

 


	49. Chapter 49

**Sunnydale Army Base, 1550 hours.**

Tara followed Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c and Daniel up the ramp and took their seats on the transport plane that was set to take them to Petersons Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. It was the Colonel who helped Tara make sure that her harness was properly fastened before he nodded at the blonde witch and headed back to his seat next to Teal'c. Tara turned her head and watched as the ramp was raised until they were shut in the plane. She then turned and looked at a silent Daniel who was looking straight ahead at the hull of the plane.

'He hasn't said a single thing' thought Tara to herself, 'he told me about how he had his wife taken from him, and.. and I can feel the worry coming from him… I can see how nervous, how upset…. It's a mixture of emotions. But most of all he's worried for his wife. I think he's afraid that they'll be too late to save her.'

Tara remembered how Daniel rushed into the car after the Colonel had told him what was going on, that Amounet travelled to Abydos and kidnapped some of the Abydonians. They had the address that they were taken to, and they were going to get all of them home.

"Including Sha're" said the Colonel once Daniel rushed into the car from which the older man looked at him through the rear view mirror, "we'll get her home, Danny."

Tara had seen Daniel nod his head back in the car, and now as the plane started to taxi, she looked over at the man again and put her hand over his. She saw Daniel turn and look at Tara who have him a small smile and gently tightened her grip on his hand. Tara didn't want to say anything to the man, she had been told that anything could happen when teams go through the Stargate.. so she didn't want to give the man false hope. All she wanted to do was silently tell him that she'll be there for him no matter what happens.

It would be hours later that Tara would know firsthand the risks carried in going through the Stargate. It was already nine at night when SG-1, SG-3 and SG-12 were set to go through the Stargate. Tara was looking at the assembled teams from the briefing room window as the Stargate activated. While the teams, led by SG-1, walked through the event horizon of the Stargate with their weapons at the ready, the blonde witch could feel a slight tug in her chest. It felt as if something would go terribly wrong while the young woman brought her hand to her chest and closed her eyes as she whispered a spell. A protection spell that would ensure that the teams came back safe.

'The question is' thought Tara to herself as she hung her head, 'will the spell work off world when the caster is on Earth.'

Once the Stargate deactivated, Tara stood unmoving from the window as she heard footsteps coming up the metal stairs behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled at General Hammond as he walked towards her and, finally, stood next to her as they looked down at the alien ring together.

"This is the worry I feel every day, Miss Maclay" said the General as Tara looked at him in surprise, "yes, I know exactly what you're thinking; I have been there before, standing helplessly waiting for those I have send to fight a secret war against an alien race to safely return home. An alien race that would see us enslaved, or eliminated, from the galaxy."

"Does it ever get easier, General?" asked Tara as she looked at the Stargate imagining that it was Willow and Buffy who had just walked through the Stargate. She wished that she could do something to help the teams, but she hadn't been trained to go through the Stargate; and seeing the people earlier heading into the unknown made her wonder if she should start the full course of training required to go through the Stargate, "I mean seeing people go off through the Stargate?"

"It's something I know we need to do, Miss Maclay" said General Hammond, "but no, it never gets easier when I lose people out there. I guess the day it gets easier, that's the day I really have to resign."

Tara glanced at the bald man and just knew that he meant every word of what he had told her. She could see that this man before her cared deeply about everyone, be they military personnel or civilian, under his command.

"It could take some time for them to come back, Miss Maclay" said the General as he stood next to Tara, "and you had a long day, maybe it would be better if you…"

"I'd like to wait here, General" said Tara as she smiled at the bald man next to her, "I mean if you don't mind, that is."

It was nearly thirty minutes later that the klaxons activated and Walter shouted from the control room that it was an unscheduled off-world activation. Tara and the General looked at each other before running down to the control room where, as they were running down the stairs, the both of them could see Colonel O'Neill's face with the sounds of weapons fire behind him.

"Colonel" said the General as he stepped forward while Tara stood at the foot of the stairs, trying to keep out of everyone's way, "what's the situation?"

"We found the Abydonians, sir" shouted the Colonel as he ducked behind the MALP.

"Colonel?"

"General" shouted the Colonel as his face came on-screen once more, "we're taking fire from Horus and Serpent guards, but no sign of Sha're yet. We've got refugees coming in hot."

"Sergeant" said the General as he tapped on Walter's shoulder as he put his hand on the palm reader and opened the iris. The General then looked at the screen and told the Colonel to send the refugees through.

"Medical teams to the Gateroom" said Walter as people started to come through the Stargate, "Medical teams to the Gateroom."

"Miss Maclay" said the General as he turned to face Tara, "I know this is a lot to ask but could you help the security teams help get the people to the infirmary."

"Of… of course" said Tara as she looked at the Colonel who was looking away and firing his weapon off into the distance. Tara rushed down the stairs leading to the Gateroom where she was faced with a large group of confused and panicked survivors. She could see that the security detail were doing everything they could to calm everyone down, but she knew they needed a little help. Closing her eyes and concentration on the rampant emotions in the Gateroom, the young woman exuded calm that slowly affected everyone as they continued to come through the gate. Eventually, the security teams and the medical personnel led the calmed refugees towards the infirmary while Tara followed behind them while carrying one child who had been crying, and another two who were holding onto her dress as they followed the blonde.

The only ones that were missing were the SG teams, and Tara was wondering what happened to them as she entered the infirmary where Dr. Frasier was getting everything ready for the injured. Tara placed the children on a bed, before telling them that they were safe and that she had to check on the others. After they nodded their heads, the blonde with smiled and ruffled their hair before rushing to Dr. Fraiser who was working on an injured man.

"Doctor" said Tara as she patient the doctor was working on was screaming from the pain cause by a staff weapon blast to the leg, "how can I help?"

"We have a lot of injured" said the doctor as she looked at Tara before she started work on her patient, "I need you to get to storage room one on this level, take one of the S.F's with you. Go to the second locker on the right and take out the metal case. When you open it, I need you to put on the device that's being kept inside the case… it's a Goa'uld healing device; the same one that Major Carter used to heal Willow. Put it on, and.. you said you can heal right? I mean using… you know."

"And you don't want the Abydonians to know" said Tara as she realized what the doctor was telling her. That if the Abydonians had seen Tara healing people using magic, then they may get frightened or they may start to believe Tara was some kind of healer, or goddess. The blonde knew that she didn't want to be seen as the latter, which would most likely be the case. Instead, she would pretend to use the device, while in reality using her magic to heal the wounded as much as possible. However, she had already used a lot of her power to calm the people down… she was still keeping them calm; a fact that she told the doctor before she asked a S.F to accompany her to storage room one.

"Just do what you can" said the doctor before Tara rushed out of the room with a S.F.

It was a few minutes later that Tara returned with the device around the palm of her hand and ran to Dr. Fraiser immediately. She asked Tara to use her abilities on her patient whi was still bleeding from his wound.

"Can you fix the whole wound?" asked the Doctor.

"It takes a lot to heal" said Tara as she looked at the doctor, "and I'm using a lot of my power to calm everyone down, the Gateroom was in a panic so…. I'm sorry. But even at full power, I don't think I can hold out using my magic for a long time."

'Alright" said the doctor, "I need you to just stop the bleeding, and then start healing as many wounded as you can. Even a little bit would help, Tara."

The doctor watched Tara nod her head before she put the device over the wound. Tara closed her eyes and concentrated, using short bursts of magic to slowly repair the broken blood vessels so as to stop the bleeding. It wasn't too before Dr. Fraiser told the blonde witch to head to the next patient while she finished up with the one she was working on at that moment. It took about ten more minutes before the klaxons started to blare again before Walter's voice came through the speaker calling for medical aid to the Gateroom.

"Move, move, move" shouted Dr. Fraiser as she took a few empty beds, as well as some nurses with her while telling Tara to do everything she could. Tara could see that it was frantic as the doctor hurried out of the infirmary, and it was then that the familiar tug in her chest started. It was then that Tara realized something had gone horribly wrong. Shaking her head, Tara helped Dr. Warner and the others heal the injured as much as she could until the doctor himself ordered Tara to take a seat and rest since she started bleeding from her nose.

"I.. I must have over-exerted myself" said Tara as two nurses helped her to take a seat while a third got her some Kleenex and a glass of water. Thanking the young woman for the liquid, Tara wiped the blood before taking down the water before she hung her head and closed her eyes willing for her heart to stop racing. She then looked up and watched the doctors and nurses as they hurried from one patient to another; it was then that Dr. Fraiser rushed back in with three beds that had injured SG team members lying on them. The blonde witch got up when she noticed the look that was etched on the doctor's face just as Major Carter rushed into the infirmary and called for Tara.

"Tara" said Dr. Fraiser, "these men are going to be alright, I need you to follow Major Carter."

"Dr. Fraiser" said Dr. Warner as he attended to one of the newcomers, "she's exhausted from healing."

"I.. I can try" said Tara as she nodded at Dr. Fraiser before she followed Major Carter to the next room, "Sam? What.. what happened?"

"I.. I don't know if you can do anything" said the Major as she looked back at Tara, "but something happened."

The Major opened a door a few meters away from the infirmary as the blonde witch followed her into the room. Tara looked at Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c and the Major who were looking at a table in the middle of the room. A table where a bald man was holding the hand of a woman in elaborate clothes; Tara switched her view from the man to the woman, and it was then that she realized that the person lying on the table had no aura.

'She has no life' thought Tara to herself as she walked towards the woman.

Tara saw the man look up at her as she placed her hand on the woman's forehead.

"Tara" said the Major as the blonde witch looked back over her shoulder, "can you…?"

"I'm sorry" said Tara as the Major looked down on the floor as Tara looked back at the woman, "is she Daniel's wife? Sha're?"

"Yea" said Colonel O'Neill softly.

"You are a healer?" asked the bald man.

"Tara, this is Kasuf" said Major Carter, "Sha're's father."

"I am sorry for your loss" said Tara as she saw his sadness reflect in his aura, his sadness and the deep love he held for his daughter, "but there is nothing I can do. I.. I practise the mystics on this world but even I cannot bring back someone who has already passed onto the next world."

Tara saw a look of anguish on the face of Kasuf before he looked back at Sha're as he leaned forward and caressed her cheek.

"Is Daniel, alright?" asked Tara as she looked at the Major.

"Sha're used a ribbon device on Daniel Jackson" said Teal'c as Tara noticed his primary aura giving off a great sadness, "it was I who shot Sha're with my weapon to save the life of Daniel Jackson."

"He's being taken to the secondary infirmary" said Major Carter.

"I see" said Tara as she walked to Kasuf and crouched down while taking his free hand into hers. The man then looked up at the blonde before she nodded her head, and looked at the lifeless body of Sha're, "if you so wish, I can try; I don't think I have enough power, but I can try to call her spirit to say one last goodbye."

"Tara Maclay" said Teal'c as everyone looked up at her surprised, "but…."

"I can't bring her back to life" said Tara gently as she looked at Kasuf, and then at the remaining members of SG-1, and then back at Kasuf, "but you can have one last goodbye with your daughter. But it has to be now, if we wait too long then it may be impossible."

"Will she have the demon within her?" asked Kasuf as he looked at Tara who furrowed her eyebrows at the man. It was Teal'c who told Tara that Kasuf was referring to the Goa'uld, Amounet.

"No" said Tara, "she will be as she was before the Goa'uld took her body."

"Tara" said Major Carter, "I thought you didn't want to use magic?"

"Not for personal gain and no, I… I don't like it. I called my mother's spirit when I was younger for one last goodbye after she died, and that was that one and last time I used that spell because she scolded me for calling her spirit. That was something I did for myself" said Tara gently as she looked at the Major, and then at the others, "I need some salt, enough for a circle. I also need some candles, and… and if Daniel's still unconscious, then I need a recorder."

"If she has any messages for him" said the Colonel as Tara nodded.

"Yes" said Tara as the others went to get the salt and candles. Teal'c was the only one who stayed in one corner of the room, silently guarding Kasuf and Tara. It was Kasuf who looked up from Sha're's body and looked at the Jaffa before telling him that he held no grudge against the man.. the only being he blamed was the Goa'uld that had taken his daughter away, and his own weakness that made him unable to protect his daughter.

Tara stayed with the body as Kasuf went up to Teal'c and talked to him. It was a few minutes later that the Colonel walked into the room with three medium sized packets of salt, along with General Hammond who had heard what was going on from the Colonel when he met him on the way back to the room. They were soon followed by the Major who came back with some colourful candles, telling the people who were looking back at her that she got these trick candle for Cassie's upcoming birthday; as well as a digital recorder.

"Will they work?" asked the Major as Tara smiled.

"Yes" she replied, "she can be only her for a few minutes; maximum of three minutes.. maybe. I know I can't hold the spell for too long."

"It will be enough" said Kasuf as the Colonel closed the door to the room. Tara then explained that she'll be pouring the salt in a circle, and it would act like a barrier; that it would keep the spirit inside the circle.

"Sam" said Tara, "I know that you're going to find it hard to believe why I need to have this precaution in place, but think of it like this. I'm calling Sha're's spirit… and there's no way to tell if something else will be coming along for the ride. I'm opening a doorway into the afterlife and… and without this barrier, we'll have a lot of problems."

The Major nodded her head before Tara turned to Kasuf and told him that while Sha're may look real, the truth was that it was only her spirit… and that if anyone tried to break the barrier, then not only would Sha're be able to move out of the barrier; so would any other malevolent force.

"And we have the snakes to deal with" said the Colonel, "no need any angry casper haunting the place, Tara."

Tara smiled at the Colonel before she asked the General if he was alright with all of this.

"This is your show, Miss Maclay" said the General, "will this mountain be in any danger?"

"As long as the circle remains?" said Tara, "then no, we'll all be safe."

"Alright" said the General, "but this stays out of the official report."

"Agreed" said Tara and the others while Kasuf looked down at his daughter.

Everyone then watched as Tara walked to one corner of the room and made a circle on the floor using the salt while at the same time she started to say a spell. Tara then stepped back after the circle was made and asked the Major to hand her the four candles. She then placed the unlit candles around the circle while saying a silent spell. Once the candles were down on the floor, Tara stepped back and reminded the others that no matter what, they were not to break the barrier.

After everyone nodded their heads, Tara looked at the circle and took a deep breath. She knew that she had nearly exhausted her magiks as she raised both her hands and started to cast a spell. She started to speak in latin as the people in the room felt the temperature in the room drop, however at the same time, the candles burst into flames as the others covered their eyes. The Major looked in amazement as the flames from the candles jumped to the circle of salt, making it glow a bright white.

"Tara?" asked the Colonel as he noticed the blonde starting to pant as she told him that she was fine, and that they needed to get the recorder ready.

"Carter" said the Colonel as the Major activated the digital recorder just as an ethereal female voice appeared in the room.

"Hello" said the voice, Sha're's voice.

"Sha're" said Kasuf as he stepped forward, "my daughter."

"Father" said the voice again as it focused on the circle in the corner that continued to glow white as a figure started to take shape, "Father, I am sorry… I was not strong enough."

"No, my daughter" said Kasuf as he continued to move forward but he was stopped by the Colonel who gently pulled him back, despite how much it pained him to do so. Everyone in the room, especially Major Carter, looked in amazement as the figure started to take form as a head, body, and then feet came into view. Tara soon saw a woman in front of her with dark hair, a smile and brown coloured robes as she looked around her surroundings.

"Sha're" said Tara as she started to pant, "you know why you are here."

"Yes" said the woman, "you called me, did you not?"

"Yes" replied Tara, "for one last goodbye."

"Thank you" said the Abydonian woman as Tara nodded her head while the General rushed to the witch and gently supported her so that she didn't fall onto the floor.

'Thank you" said Tara as she looked back at a nodding General. She knew that she was almost out of breath while keeping the spell active, and that she had a maximum of a few minutes before she used up all her power and the spirit of Sha're left this plane of existence forever.

"Teal'c" said Sha're as Tara turned and looked at the stunned Jaffa, "do not blame yourself for what happened. You saved my love from the demon that had taken over my body. I forgive you, as will Danyel. He knows that you did what must be done."

"I am sorry" said Teal'c as he looked at the woman, before looking down at the floor.

"You are fighting to free your people" said Sha're as Teal'c looked up at the spirit, "just as Danyel and his friends did to free all Abydonians from evil. Your cause is just."

"Sha're" said Kasuf as tears gathered in the man's eyes.

"Father" said Sha're looking at the man, "do not blame yourself for what happened to me. There was nothing anyone could have done, I am just happy that you have been my father.. and that I have been your daughter. Do not despair, Father…. Your son, my brother is still out there.. and I believe that he will return to you. Please tell him that I love him very much."

"I… I shall" said Kasuf as he nodded his head and collapsed onto his knees while the Colonel put his arm around the shoulder of the man in comfort.

"I thank all of you" said Sha're as she looked at the people in the room, "and please…"

"We're taping this" said Major Carter as she looked at the spirit in front of her, "you can leave a message directly for Daniel."

"Thank you" said Sha're, "my Danyel. Meeting you all those years ago was fate. I know it was. Meeting you brought a happiness that I never knew could exist, and we have spent such great times together. I thank you for everything; I thank you for taking me as your wife.. I thank you for protecting me, I thank you for freeing me and my people from a great evil. Thank you, my love. I just ask that you protect my son, he is on Kheb.. and he needs you most of all. You are the love of my life, Danyel… I only wish you happiness as you live on. Farewell."

"It is time for me to go" continued Sha're as she looked at Kasuf, "father. I will always be by your side… I will be in your heart."

"Yes" said Kasuf as his voice broke, "you… are… with me. My daughter."

"Sorry" said Tara as she looked at Sha're.

"Thank you" said the spirit as she smiled at Tara, "thank you for enabling me to say one last goodbye."

It was then that everyone looked on amazed as Sha're vanished in a brilliant flash of white light, leaving only charred candles around the area where the ring of salt used to be.

"The doors have been closed" said Tara as she dropped on her knees while Major Carter rushed to her, "the salt represented the doorway, with the salt gone. That means the doorway has been shut, and gone. And now…. Now I wanna rest. Ple… please don't tell Willow about this… ple.. ple.. please."

It was then that Tara's body went limp and her head fell onto the General's shoulder while Teal'c called for medical assistance.

TBC.

 


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A small part of this chapter refers to events that occurred in Chapter 131 (The Coming of Dawn: Part 3) of AEM.

**The Warehouse District, Sunnydale, 2100 hours.**

Davos panted as he took shelter in Warehouse Forty One on the Northern side of Sunnydale. He had run up the stairs to the last floor of the building and shut the door behind him. He had just arrived in Sunnydale searching for the Key, the same living energy that he and his brothers in the Order of Dagon moulded into human form and sent to the Slayer.

The man hurriedly locked the metal door and walked to the middle of the room where he placed down the bag that was slung over his shoulder. Taking a set on the bare floor, he laid out everything inside the bag and started saying a spell that would hide him from Glory.

'She has found all my brothers' thought Davos to himself, 'the beast has always managed to elude detection. I cannot tell if she knows in am in this city, however with the mouth of hell active.. I have no doubt that she will come here as well. I can only hope that the two Slayers will protect the Key. I must find them, and tell them of what will be coming against them. The beast must be defeated, if not.. the world is doomed.'

The man then sat up straight as he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. However, he kept of having flashbacks to when his brothers were escaping the Order's monastery in the Czech Republic. Davos remembered moulding the key with what remained of his fellow monks as Glory pounded on the door on the other side of the room. Worried, he looked back at the door before the leader of their order told him to concentrate. Looking back at the greenish hue before him, the man swore that he heard a scream in the distance… a scream from the light before there was a bright, white flash of light and the green hue was gone. The Key sent to the two Slayers to be protected, with reality changed so that the Slayer's friends and family would always remember having met the key.

'Dawn' thought Davos to himself, 'that's the name we gave her, Dawn Summers.'

Shaking his head, Davos started the spell again to search for Buffy's home before he was again distracted by the memories of what happened that say. The same memories that he had been going through since his brothers separated so that Glory would come after each of them, while giving Davos the change to get to Sunnydale. He remembered the red haired woman who appeared out of nowhere after Glory smashed the door to the room in which they were located open; he saw the pure rage in the woman's eyes as she ordered all of them to leave while telling off the one that he knew off as the beast. Davos and his brothers ran through the hallways of the monetary as fast as they could when they suddenly heard the sound of a small explosion in the distance, as if a cannonball had been fired into the building. It was then that the building started to shake. Stopping to turn around, Davos saw brilliant white light that was filtering through the cracks in the various stone walls of the monastery when he felt his robe beings pulled. It was then that the building started to shake even more as the walls started to fall. Davos started to run as fast as he could behind his brothers as everything started to fall around them. It was a minute later that they existed through another doorway, and continued to run as the monastery collapsed in on itself.

Davos shook his head back in the warehouse as he restarted the spell once again. He knew that he was the last, that Glory and her minions had tortured the rest of his remaining brothers all over the world to find information on the Key. He was in contact with them mystically until they met their ends, never telling Glory anything about the Key. However, he also knew that Glory could follow that connection to wherever her was. That was what led the man to finding the two Slayers before Glory found him, and now… as he completed the spell, black lines drew themselves on the floor denoting a map of Sunnydale followed by a bright spot as Davos' eyes opened wide.

"The Key" said Davos as he quickly got up and headed to the locked door. However, he stopped when he heard sounds from outside the building. Cautiously heading towards the window on the right side, he crouched down and looked out at twenty people who were wearing sliver armour that had insignia painted all over, "the Knights of Byzantium. They are here? Did they follow me? How did they know the Key or the Slayer was here?"

He heard one man give orders to the others as he pointed to various buildings, including the one that Davos himself was hiding in.

"He is in the general vicinity!" shouted the man, "find him, bring him to camp. We will gain the information from him by force if we have to. We are following the word of God, and the Key is a danger to this world He has created. Find him. Go."

"No" said Davos softly as he watched five men enter the warehouse where he hid himself, "no, they will destroy the Key. I need to get to the Slayers. They do not know the danger the Key is in."

Davos stood up as he headed back to the bag that was on the floor and slung it back over his shoulder. The man then rushed towards the door and unlocked it before reciting a spell. IT wasn't too long before the cloaking spell took effect and he waited at the top of the stairs for the knights to walk past him before he silently walked down the stairs. He knew that the spell would only last for a few minutes before he was visible, so as soon as he went past the entire knights in the building and outside. He made a run for the exit.

He continued to run as he entered the downtown area before he stepped into an alley where he voluntarily dispelled the cloak. He knew that the Knights wouldn't dare reveal themselves in such a public area. Peeking his head around the corner to make sure that he was safe, he breathed in deep when he found that he wasn't followed. Walking out of the shadow of the alley with his bag over his shoulder, Davos remembered the map of where the Slayer was located before he dispelled the black lines. He continued walking as he walked past a young man and a young woman who were holding hands together. They looked at him while Davos nodded his head at them as he walked past. As he continued to walk, he never noticed that the man and the woman stopped, and looked back at him before looking at each other.

"Ahn?" said Xander who was wearing a jacket with a small crossbow underneath while Anya, who had her hair tied back, looked at Davos walking away, "something you wanna tell the guy?"

"No" said Anya as she turned back around and the two continued on their patrol. It was a ten minutes later that they had been to the hospital, and scouted the surrounding area when they noticed a few creatures in brown robes walking around. Suspecting that they could be trying to find out about what happened to Ben, Anya and Xander tried to get up close to them as they talked to each other. Walking hand in hand towards them when suddenly Xander pushed Anya against a lamp post and started kissing the former vengeance demon.

"Humans" they heard one of the creatures saying in disgust as they went off not to far away in another direction. It wasn't too long before Xander and Anya, while continuing kissing each other, heard the three creatures mention Ben and Glory. The both of them also heard the creatures mention that one of the Dagon monks was in town looking for the Key, and that they should find him so that they could let Glory know where he was located.

At that, Anya pushed Xander back roughly before grabbing his collar and telling him loudly that she's ready for him to give her an orgasm back home.

"Ahn" hissed Xander, his face turning red as an elderly couple walking towards them quickly turned around and walked away, while the creatures looked at them in disgust beforse Anya pulled Xander away from the area.

"Sorry" said Anya as she let go of Xander and wrapped her arm around his arm, "but I had to find a way of getting us out of that situation, so I picked something enjoyable. Plus, after that… I really need your hands… you.. know… our regular games."

"Yeah" said Xander as he nodded at the shocked elderly couple before looking at Anya, "even those guys knew what you were talking about."

"Major" said Anya as she pressed her earpiece, "we found Glory's minions, plus one of the monks of Dagon are here. Giles will know what it means."

After Major Daniels acknowledged, Anya looked back at Xander and asked if they should head back to their apartment.

'Yea" said Xander, "let's go."

**Secondary Infirmary, SGC, 2345 hours.**

The last thing that Tara remembered was saying goodbye to Sha're's spirit before the young woman closed the doors between this world and the afterlife; the salt circle vanishing confirmed that all ways for any malevolent force to come into this world was closed off. And then she felt herself become light as she fell back. She didn't know how much time had passed when she felt herself lying on a soft mattress. Groaning as she brought her hand over to her forehead, she heard a chair next to her move back as if someone had stood up. Slowly opening her eyes, she gave a small smile to Colonel O'Neill who stood beside her bed with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey sleepyhead."

"Colonel" said Tara softly as she coughed. The Colonel then grabbed a jug of water that was on one end of the infirmary and poured some water. While the leader of SG-1 went to pour Tara some water, Tara heard someone else groaning next to her before footsteps came through the infirmary doors. Turning her head, she saw Daniel lying on his side in the bed next to her; as well as Dr. Fraiser walking into the infirmary.

"Tara" said the doctor as she walked over to the blonde witch and gave her a quick check-up, "how are you feeling?"

"Tired" said Tara as she slowly got up with the doctor's help while Colonel O'Neill handed her a cup of water with a straw so that she could easily drink the liquid. He patted the young woman's shoulders, and nodded his head before he headed to Daniel who had by now lay down on his back.

"Looks like you're going to be alright" said the doctor as she looked at Tara after checking her pulse, and heartbeat, along with some other quick tests, "you had us worried there for a little while."

"Just something I.. I thought I should do" said Tara softly as she looked at Daniel who asked what happened, that the last thing he remembered was that Amounet was using the ribbon device on his mind, that their minds were connected for one small moment as Sha're told him about finding her son on Kheb.

"I need to take Sha're to Kheb" said Daniel softly as he looked at the Colonel, who in turn looked at Daniel before looking up at Dr. Fraiser and Tara who were looking back at him. IT was at that time that Major Carter, Teal'c and Kasuf entered the infirmary to check up on the both of them. They were pleasantly surprised to see that both Tara and Daniel were awake.

Daniel, upon seeing Kasuf, slowly sat up while rubbing his forehead and told the man that his daughter would now be free.

"We can have the demon out of her body" said Daniel, "and then we'll find her son together."

It was at the mention of Sha're's name that Daniel knew something had gone terribly wrong. He looked at all of their faces, their eyes avoiding him.

"She's gone" said Daniel to himself as he recalled a fuzzy memory of him lying on the ground in a tent while holding onto his dead wife.

"Indeed" said Teal'c as he took a step forward while Kasuf walked over to Daniel's bedside and stood next to him, "I was the one who shot her, Daniel Jackson. If I did not, Amounet would have killed you."

"You.. you did the right thing" said Daniel softly as he hung his head down while Kasuf placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I am sorry" said Teal'c as he gave Daniel a small bow before taking a step back.

Daniel nodded his head as he continued to hang his head. Everyone saw him rub his eye before he looked up and told them that he had seen a series of visions where Sha're told him about where they could find her son.

"She asked me to find him, and protect him" said Daniel.

"Are you sure that you saw a vision?" asked the Major as she looked at Daniel, "a ribbon device directly attacks the mind, and yes it's mentally operated but to link two minds together… I'm not sure if that's how it's meant to work. Maybe…."

"Carter" said Colonel O'Neill, "at least we know the part about her kid is true."

"I.. I know" said Major Carter as she looked at a confused Daniel before apologizing to her friend.

Daniel could only nod his head before asking the Major what she meant by he was telling the truth about Sha're's son.

"Tha.. that would be me" said Tara as Daniel turned to face the blonde while Major Carter ran out of the infirmary, "these guy asked if there was any way to restore Sha're to life; but once someone dies…."

"There's no way to bring them back to life" said Daniel, "at least not without a sarcophagus."

"A sarcophagus can?" asked Tara surprised, "then….."

"The last one that we knew of was destroyed" said Teal'c as he recalled the time Hathor nearly took over Stargate Command. Once of the things they did to regain control was to heal Colonel O'Neill who was made into a Jaffa using the sarcophagus, however soon after he was healed, Hathor destroyed the device.

"The remaining Abydonians have been rescued" said Kasuf as Daniel nodded his head, "and Tara Maclay has given us a great gift."

"Tara?" asked Daniel as he looked at the blonde witch with confusion etched on his face.

"I.. I.. called her spirit" said Tara as she looked down nervously, "to.. to say one last goodbye."

"Oh" said Daniel surprised, "you.. you mean…"

"She was here, Daniel" said Colonel O'Neill as Major Carter ran back into the room carrying the recorder from the session that Tara had held. The Colonel looked at the Major and nodded his head before telling Daniel that she left messages for all of them.

"I.. I couldn't wait too long" said Tara nervously, "if.. if.. I did.. then.. then we wouldn't be able to call her back."

"Daniel" said Major Carter as she handed the archaeologist the recorder, "we can leave you alone while you.."

"No" said Daniel as he took the recorder from Major Carter, "I don't want to be alone."

Daniel turned on the recorder from the beginning as he heard Tara saying the spell to bring Sha're's spirit forth in Latin. The blonde young woman saw Daniel nodding his head, indicating that he understood what Tara was speaking before his eyes opened wide when Sha're's voice was heard. He looked at everyone, and then as Tara who gave him a small smile before he looked back at the recorder and heard Sha're speaking all of them. Daniel then heard the message that Sha're had left for him as he silently promised that he's find Kheb, and her son.

"I'll protect him" said Daniel softly as the recorder turned off automatically, "thank you, Sha're. And goodbye."

Daniel then turned back towards Tara and thanked her for calling Sha're's spirit for one final goodbye. It was then that Daniel told everyone the truth about Sha're's son, that he had all of the genetic knowledge of the Goa'uld, and that he should be protected at all costs. Tara could see the Colonel and the others nodding their heads, but she wasn't sure if protecting the boy on Earth would be the right thing to do if he was found.

'A boy with all the knowledge of the Goa'uld' thought Tara to herself as he looked at Daniel who was chatting with the others, 'knowledge like that… knowledge of evil would make the boy… I hope I'm wrong, but the boy would be the embodiment of evil. They told me that they haven't met a good Goa'uld… so I fear that the boy would be the ultimate form of evil if they, I mean we, if we ever find him. I'm sorry, Daniel… but I hope that we do not find the boy.'

It was a few days later that Tara made her first trip through the Stargate to Abydos where they were going to bury Sha're's body near her village. It was both Daniel and Kasuf who insisted that she come with them, that she had given them a great gift in being able to talk to Sha're once again; that it was tradition among the Abydonians, just as it was Tradition among the Tok'ra to place the bodies of their dead on front of the Stargate so that the unstable vortex would atomize the body. It was the next day that Tara was well enough to visit Willow at the academy. Along with Daniel, she told Willow everything, including how she used magic to bring back Sha're's spirit so that she could say goodbye. She told Willow that she thought about not telling the redhead.

"I don't want to lie" said Tara, "but it was something I had to do. I know what I said about magic, and… and I'm glad that you're not doing it anymore. But.. but this was something I had to do."

Making sure to make it look as un-intimate as possible, Willow gave Tara a quick hug while whispering in her ear that she did the right thing. Being so close to her girlfriend made Tara want to just hold on to the redhead forever, but she knew that she couldn't risk Willow's career so she released Willow and stepped back as the redhead gave Daniel as tight hug.

"I'm so sorry, Daniel" said Willow softly as she hugged the man.

"She said goodbye" replied Daniel as he held onto Willow, "thanks to Tara, she was able to say goodbye."

Willow, in her cadet uniform, could only look at Tara as she looked at the ground and then looked back up at the redhead.

"I love you" mouthed Willow silently as Tara gave her a small smile and mouthed that she loved her as well. Willow knew that Tara's heart was breaking every time they left after seeing her at the Academy, even if she never told the redhead anything. Before they left, Willow hugged Tara one more time and told her that they'll be alright.

"No matter what" said Willow softly while she hugged Tara as Daniel stood back with his hands in his pockets, "we'll always be alright."

TBC

 


	51. Chapter 51

**The Summers Residence, Sunnydale, 1600 hours.**

Once Dawn had come home from school, she was surprised at who was standing in her living room talking to Buffy, Faith, and Joyce. She grinned at Cordelia who seemed to looked at her stunned for a few seconds before the former queen bee of Sunnydale High gave the brunette a wide smile.

"Cordy" said Dawn as she waved into the room and waved at her, "you're back? You came to visit? Just so you know, the stuff you lent me, well… I… umm… I…."

"It's fine, Dawn" said Cordelia as she glanced at Buffy, Faith and Joyce before looking at Dawn again, "I'm heading up the new Institute of Paranormal Research so I've moved back to Sunnydale."

"Cool" said Dawn as she then pointed at Buffy, "so you work for her now?"

Buffy looked at her grinning sister as she pointed at her, and then at Cordelia, before rolling her eyes upwards and saying that they're working together.

"At least until it Academy day for me" said Buffy with a shrug.

"Cordy here wants us to write a report on a mission we just completed" said Faith as she looked at Buffy whose eyes looked away from Dawn, and onto the floor for just a few seconds. The dark haired Slayer knew that Buffy was going to be taking this harder than her, and told herself that she need to talk to her about what she was feeling now; just the two of them. IN the meantime, Faith told Dawn their cover story, a story made so that Dawn doesn't know that what they did was just kill a god in a human's body to not only save the Brunette's life, but that of the planet as well.

"Oh, fun" said Dawn as she looked at Cordelia and then at Buffy, "right, Buff?"

"Huh?" asked Buffy as she looked up at Dawn with her mouth open before she shook her head when she realized what Dawn was talking about, "oh right? Yeah, can't wait."

"Anyway" said Cordelia, "as I was saying before Dawn came in…"

"Dawn" said Joyce as she interrupted Cordelia, "how about you freshen up, start your homework and then I'll call you down for some snacks?"

"Mom" whined Dawn as she looked at the older blonde, "but….."

"Dawnie" said Joyce as she put her hands on her hips.

"Alright" sighed Dawn as she trudged up the stairs before looking back, "you know, I am a part of this household and it's my constitutional right to know what's going on."

"No it's not" said Joyce, Buffy and Faith together as Dawn frowned before she looked at Cordelia, silently begging her to let her stay.

"Sorry" said Cordelia as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine" huffed Dawn, "just because of that, I won't give you back the mascara you lent me."

"Sorry" said Cordelia as she grinned at Dawn before the young girl turned and walked up the stairs and slammed the door to her room. The dark haired woman then turned back to looked at Joyce, Buffy and Faith when her eyes suddenly opened wide, making Cordelia turn around again, "wait a second, I never lent you my mascara stick!"

"Cordy" said Buffy as Cordelia narrowed her eyes at the now empty staircase before sighing and looking back at Faith and the Summers clan, "what's going on? I mean, what was it you wanted to tell us before Dawn came home?"

"Oh, right" said Cordelia as she told the three stunned females about Graham, who used to be part of the Initiative, training the new recruits. Before the three of them could say anything, Cordelia told them that the military had made that decision based on the fact that he had experience in training soldiers to fight paranormal threats, that he had been one of the people who were fighting against Adam when Colonel O'Neill and his team took down the Initiative, that he didn't have anything to do with the home invasion that led to both Dawn's almost being kidnapped before the alternate Willow intervened and saved them, "I don't like it, but the military have a point. Not only did they vet him to make sure that he was telling the truth, the new recruits would never take order from a civilian they just met. Even if said civilians have more experience with the paranormal."

"I don't like this, Cordy" said Buffy, "from what Giles told us about what he read about the Initiative, what Walsh tried to do was create super soldiers…. Super soldiers, Frankenstein monsters.. name it. Illegal experimentations and….."

"But if this guy's been vetted" said Faith as she interrupted Buffy, "I mean, they've been able to look at everything about him I take it?"

"Yeah" said Cordelia.

"Then if he wasn't involved, then I guess it's kinda ok" said Faith, "I mean I'm not wild about what they tried to do with Willow, or that they actually built a murderous Frankenstein's monster… just saying that this guy didn't have anything to do with that. And the military's right, these recruits don't know us so they have no reason to do what we say."

"Doesn't mean that you guys won't train with them eventually once your training is done with Major Daniels" said Cordelia, "these new recruits will be the ones watching your backs in a few weeks. And you'll be the ones taking them out on patrols then, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to show them what you can do."

"Right" sighed Buffy, "I'm gonna lie down for a little bit. I'm not feeling too well?"

"Buffy" said Cordelia, "there's more that you guys should know about."

Cordelia told Buffy and the others that Glory's minions that Ben told them about before dying were most likely in the city, and that Anya and Xander would be sent to patrol the city to search for them. She told them about the plan to finish off Glory's minions tomorrow if, and when, they come to one of the Funeral homes that the IPR intended to use as a cover. She told them that once the plan had been put into action, and the minions were taken care off… then she'll have Ben's body atomized so that no one would be able to revive Glory.

"With Sunnydale's hellmouthiness" said Cordelia as she looked at Buffy, and Faith, "anything can happen. I don't want a god out there in the streets pissed that she was dead for a little while. So her body will be transferred to the IPR by Major Daniel's for safekeeping tonight, so that her minions don't get at his body from the hospital."

"They'll go looking for Ben when he, or Glory, doesn't meet with them.. right?" asked Joyce.

"Yea" replied Cordelia, "and Giles is searching for information on this Knights of Byzantium group."

"The other bunch of possible loonies that he told us about?" asked Faith as Cordelia nodded her head.

"We'll find information on them as quickly as possible" said Cordelia.

"Alright" said Buffy as she rubbed the bridge of her nose before looking back up at Cordelia, "I'm just exhausted. I'll see you guys later."

"You alright, honey?" asked Joyce as she felt Buffy's forehead with the back of her hand. Pulling her hand back after checking for fever, the younger blonde told Joyce that she was just feeling tired. Buffy told everyone that she needed to take a nap for an hour or so, and then she'll feel better.

"Sure, honey" said Joyce as Buffy slowly walked up the stairs.

"She's taking it hard" said Cordelia after she heard another door at the top of the stairs slowly close.

"Colonel O'Neill said that it would be hard on the both of them" said Joyce as she rubbed Faith's back.

"Buffy told me once that she did kill humans" said Faith as she looked up the stairs before looking back at Joyce and Cordelia, "those were to save her friends. They already harmed people, and were preparing for more kills. I guess… I guess it'll take some time for her to see that what we had to do was the right thing, even if Ben could have been an unwilling participant."

"How're you handling this?" asked Cordelia as Faith shrugged.

"I killed people before this, one on accident.. and the other one on orders" said Faith as she looked up at the stairs, "it'll stay with me, just like this one will. But, I'll move on.. I have to move on. I know that we had to do what we did to save the world, to save lil'D.. and Buffy will understand that eventually. She'll move on too. I'll talk to her in an hour, let her get some rest."

"Alright" said Cordelia, "the counsellor will be coming in tomorrow to talk to the both of you."

"Cordelia" said Joyce, "how about you stay for dinner?"

"Thanks, Mrs Summers" replied the young woman, "but I've got a lot of unpacking to do while…"

"Nonsense" said Joyce, "unpack what you have to, but come back by seven."

Cordelia just looked at the Summers matriarch before she gave a small smile and nodded her head.

**The Summers Residence, 2140 hours.**

Dawn had just seen off Cordelia and Giles after they had finished having dinner at the Summers House. The brunette was walking back to the kitchen when she heard Giles start his engines before pulling out of the driveway. Leaning on the island, the young woman saw her mother cleaning the dishes before she looked outside the open back door as Faith sat next to Buffy while the both of them talked. It was when Joyce called Dawn's name di the brunette smile and stand next to the older blonde. Joyce passed some of the dishes to Dawn to be dried before she placed them on a rack.

It was a few minutes of drying dishes later that there was a knock on the front door. Joyce asked Dawn to check on who it was, but reminded her not to let them in.

"Mom" said Dawn as she walked away, "I know this. I'm not a kid anymore."

"Yes, dear" smiled Joyce as she washed her hands under the sink.

Dawn walked down to the door and opened it to find a nervous man with bright brown hair who was looking behind him. She saw that he was wearing some sort of a reddish robe, as well as a bag that was slung over his shoulder.

"Yes?" asked Dawn as the man turned and looked at the young woman.

"My.. my name is Davos."

Davos could only look on in shock as he came face to face with the Key, or at least the child that his order had moulded the key into. He took a step back with his mouth hanging open as he stared at their handiwork. He knew that the young woman had no idea that she was the Key, that she knew herself as completely human.

'Dawn Summers, the sister to Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane; two Slayers protecting a sister.'

"Hi" said Dawn with an eye brow raised as she looked at the man take another step back with surprise on his face, "are you ok?"

"I.. I am here to speak with Buffy Summers, and Faith Lehane" said Davos in an accent that Dawn recognized as being from Eastern Europe, as he shook his head and walked a few steps forward after getting his bearings.

"O…k" said a confused Dawn as she looked behind her and shouted for Buffy and Faith. It was a few seconds later that Buffy, followed by Faith and Joyce rushed to the main door, only to Find Davos standing there.

"Hey guy" said Faith as she leaned on the doorframe and looked at the man before her, "you wanted Buffy and Faith? I'm Faith."

"Buffy."

"Greetings, I am glad that both the Slayers are home" said Davos as he sighed before looking behind him. He scanned the surroundings with his eyes before he turned back to looking at the surprised group before him.

"How do you know that we're Slayers?" asked Buffy as she pulled Dawn behind her. Faith then stood side by side with Buffy as they both protected Dawn and Joyce who were behind them.

"The lady asked" said Faith with her arms crossed over her chest, "so spill."

"I know you are protectors" said Davos looking at both Buffy and Faith, "my name is Davos. I am the last monk of the Order of Dagon; please I have come to…"

"Order of Dagon?" said Buffy as she and Faith looked at each other, and then looked at Davos, "look we…."

Before Buffy could finish what she wanted to say, she heard a whistling sound in the air and then, in a split second, stepped forward and reached behind Davos just as an arrow almost hit him.

"Faith!" shouted Buffy as she pulled the man into the house while Faith closed the door quickly as Joyce grabbed Dawn and shielded her. They ducked as arrows hit the front door and embedded themselves in the wood.

"Mrs. S" shouted Faith as she ran up to Joyce and Dawn, checking them for any injuries just as the sounds of arrows hitting the front door stopped. Faith looked back at the front door, and then back at her adopted mother and sister while Buffy headed to the phone and called Cordelia for some back-up, "are you alright? I don't see any bleeding or any arrows. Dawn?"

"I.. I'm alright" said the young brunette.

"Hey guy" said Faith as she looked at Davos who was slowly sitting up before he crouched down and stealthily walked over to the window, "anything you wanna tell us?"

"These are the Knights of Byzantium" said Davos as he ducked back down, "they must have followed me, but I hid myself.. I don't know how.. they know that the Slayer will protect the Key… they know that much."

'The Key?" asked Dawn before she screamed as the backdoor crashed open.

"Davos" said Buffy as she went to meet the invaders, "get my mom and sister upstairs, protect them. Go…"

"Of course" said Davos as Faith ran to the storeroom under the stairs. She quickly opened it as Davos pushed Joyce and Dawn up the stairs. Faith took out two swords from the room before she quickly shut it, just as two men in sliver armour rushed into the foyer. Faith saw them while she saw another shadow at the other end of the hallway, in the sitting room that led to the kitchen.

"Buffy!" shouted Faith as she threw the sword. The dark haired Slayer swung her sword at the two Knights, but not before she heard Buffy grunt for the kitchen as metal swung against metal. Her sword was blocked by one of them, while the other one prepare to hit her with his mace. At the same time, Faith heard the dining room table break as a Knight landed on it hard.

"That's one!" shouted Buffy from the kitchen as she went on the offensive against three Knights in the kitchen.

"Great" said Faith as she pushed back the one who was blocking her sword with his own before she jumped back so that the one with the mace would miss her. Faith then ducked as the mace swung at where her head would be as everything went into slow motion for the Slayer. She could hear the sound of Buffy throwing one of the Knights onto the island in the kitchen as she rolled forward towards the one with the mace. She then swung her sword upwards as the Knight brought his mace down on Faith. The dark haired Slayer used the flat side of the blade to smash into the Knight's hand, and as the mace dropped onto the floor, Faith twisted her body and gave him a back kick that sent him flying over the previous Knight that Buffy had thrown onto the dining room table. Before the Knight hit the wall and slid down, Faith turned as the other Knight regained his balance after she pushed him away hard. She rushed towards him and knocked the sword he was holding out of his hand before she stabbed her sword through his foot. The Knight screamed as he kneeled down before the dark haired Slayer punched his face.

"I got two!" shouted Faith as she ran towards the kitchen where Buffy, who had a gash on her arm, was fighting two knights just as Faith heard a car drive up. Faith rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a just dried pan that was lying on top of one of the counter tops. She then swung it hard to the side of the Knight whose back was towards her. It hit so hard that the handle broke away from the pan itself upon impact.

"Yeah" said Faith as the man lost his balance and moved towards the wall, "beat you B, this one makes three."

"I got two, just so you know" said Buffy as she ducked before grabbing the arm that was holding onto a mace just as the front door slammed open, hitting the Knight whose foot was stabbed earlier by Faith as he gave out another scream.

Major Daniels rushed into the dining room where he saw Faith panting as she spun around and kicked the Knight that she hit earlier with a round house kick, while Buffy twisted the arm of the Knight she was fighting and slammed the top of his body to the top of the island as she, panting, looked back up at Faith and told her that this was the third one.

"Summers, Lehane!" shouted Major Daniels as he took out his Zat, "Down!"

The Major Fired the weapon as a blue energy bolt passed over a ducking Faith and Buffy, who let go of the Knight she had just fought, and hit the one who had just entered through the back door.

"We are the Knights of Byzantium" said the one who Buffy had just let go while the blonde Slayer looked up at him as he held the arm that she just twisted, "you may have beaten this small team, but you will never beat a thousand of us. We are coming for the Key… we know the Slayer protects the Key. We will continue to come until the Key is destroyed. The beast will….."

"Shut up" said Major Daniels as he fired another shot as Cordelia and Giles just ran into the house after hitting the same knight with the door slamming into him. The Zat shot crackled over the Knight's body as his eyes rolled back into the back of his head before he collapsed.

"That's still mine" said Buffy as she and Faith stood up panting and looking around at the fallen Knights before looking at each other, "you three, me three?"

"Yeah" said Faith as she nodded her head.

"What happened?" asked Cordelia, as she walked into the dining room with Giles, both in shock as they looked around at all the damage. She then looked at Faith and Buffy and rushed to them, asking if they were alright.

"Yeah" said Faith before she looked at the Major, "that guy at the door needs a bandage on his foot."

"What did you do?" asked Buffy.

"Stabbed his foot with a sword" said Faith, and then as Buffy started to frown, Faith told her that these people intruded into their home, "we defend ourselves, and our family, B."

"Oh God" said Buffy as her eyes went wide open, as did Faith's.

"Summers" said the Major as Buffy, and then Faith ran past them as fast as they could, "Lehane, wait."

The Major, Giles and Cordelia followed them up the stairs as Buffy and Faith opened the doors to the rooms and called for Dawn and Joyce. Buffy then shouted for Faith from Faith's room while the latter was checking in Joyce's room. Faith shot out of that room, and went past Major Daniels, Giles and Cordelia just as Xander and Anya rushed into the house.. Anya with her Zat out and ready to shoot. The two of them ran up the stairs as the group headed into Faith's room where they looked at the two Slayers looking at a broken window, and at a device that looked like a grenade that was laying on the carpet.

"Buff?" asked Xander softly as the Blonde Slayer's shoulders trembled, while Faith rolled her hands into fists.

"They took them" said Buffy softly as she looked at the broken window, "Dawn, mom, and Davos."

"Davos?" asked Giles.

"Order of Dagon" said Faith softly awhile she looked at the broken window as well while Cordelia and Giles looked at each other.

"Damn it" said Major Daniel's as he took out his phone before tapping on Cordelia's shoulder, "Miss Chase, with permission?"

"Do what you have to do, Major" said Cordelia, "I want Spike to take part in the search as well."

"Copy that" said the Major as he walked out of the room as he called Graham. IN the meantime, Cordelia turned towards Giles and asked him to interrogate the one who they saw had a sword stabbed through his foot.

"Get Major Daniels to help you ask questions" said Cordelia as Giles nodded his head. Before Giles left the room, Cordelia turned around and told him that if the man doesn't tell them anything, then he'll be fed to Spike as a treat.

"But.. the chip?" asked Giles. The both of them knew that the Chips in Spike's brain prevented him from attacking any human.

"He doesn't know that" said Cordelia as Giles nodded his head and headed to the stairs where the Major was still talking on the phone. Cordelia then walked towards Buffy and placed a hand gently onto her shoulder.

'Buffy" said Cordelia, "we'll find them. These guys can't have gone far."

"Yeah, Buff" said Xander as Anya held to his hand tight in worry.

"We'll find them, B" said Faith softly as she stood next to Buffy looking at the broken window. They knew that there were other people in the room with them, but right now, the two Slayers couldn't perceive them. All they could do was think about Joyce and Dawn, and that they needed to get the two of them back, "we'll find them. We'll get Dawn, back…. We'll… we'll get Mrs. S back."

"She's your mom too" said Buffy softly as she glanced at Faith.

"Let's get them back" said Faith softly as she looked at Buffy who nodded her head.

"Yea" she replied looking at Faith, and then at the peopled behind them, "let's find them."

TBC

 


	52. Chapter 52

**Abandoned Warehouse, North Side of Sunnydale, 2230 hours.**

Joyce felt her cheek lying on a cold cement floor as she slowly opened her eyes to the sounds of voices that were calling out to her. Once of them she recognized as her youngest daughter, Dawn.. and the other one was of a man she had just recently met, Davos of the Order of Dagon. Moaning as she soon had feeling back in her whole body, Joyce saw that everything was lying sideways.

'I'm lying on my side' thought the older blonde as she slowly sat up, and then had a look around at Dawn who was slowly getting up, and then at Davos who was already standing up while looking at her. It took Joyce a few minutes to notice that they were within a cage. She then looked at Davos as Dawn rushed over and hugged Joyce by wrapping her arms around the older blonde's neck.

"Mom" said Dawn who pulled away before helping her mother slowly stand up while they looked around at their surroundings, "where are we? Who are these guys?"

"The Knights of Byzantium" said Davos as he looked at both Joyce and Dawn while he remained in one side of the cage. He looked at the four corners of metals bars, and then and the bars on top before looking at the two Summers women, "they are the sworn enemies of Glorificus, the beast."

"The who now?" asked Dawn confused as she and Joyce looked at the man.

"Glorificus" said Davos, "they seek to destroy her, and what she seeks; the Key."

"The key" said Joyce as she looked with her eyes wide open at Davos. The monk looked at the shock on Joyce's face and realized that the woman knew what Dawn really was; a key to open doorways to hell, every single hell dimension just so that Glory could go home.

"Yes" said Davos as he looked at Joyce, "they are fanatical in their mission to destroy the Key."

"Yes" said a voice in the darkness as Davos, Joyce and Dawn looked straight ahead toward the sounds of metal boots hitting the cement flooring. They looked on as five men in armour walked towards them while ten people in red, hooded robes surrounded them and started to chant, "the Key would lead to the destruction of this world if it falls into the hands of the beast. Destroy the Key, and the beast fails in its mission."

"Dude" said Dawn as she tried to hide the fear in her voice, "we don't know about any Key. I mean my mom has her car key, house key, and…"

"Silence" said the man in the middle as he took a few more steps forward, "my name is Gregor, I am the General of the Knights."

It was Joyce who then asked him why they had taken the three of them, and why they broke into her house.

"The monks of Dagon" said the man as he looked at Davos, "they sent the Key to the Slayer so that it could be protected. What better way for the Slayer to protect the Key with her life than to send it to her as someone she loves. Either the mother, or the sister."

"Don't you dare touch my daughter" said Joyce as she ran towards the man. However, as she grabbed on to the bars of the cage, she felt an electrical charge go through her body and the next thing she knew, she was stumbling backwards onto the floor as Dawn screamed running towards her mother who was moaning on the ground while Davos could just look on helplessly, especially since the bag he needed for any spells wasn't with him.

"Stop this!" shouted Dawn as she looked at Joyce, and then at the Knight who looked back at her, "we don't know a thing."

"I take no joy in this, little one" said the Knight as he walked towards Dawn, "but if saving the world requires for me to kill one human being who should not exist, then so be it. What would you prefer, the beast using the Key to get to her hell while your world is destroyed. Or would you rather have the means to open that doorway destroyed so that it can never be opened in the first place, even if it is an innocent life."

"She is just a child" shouted Davos, trying to stall for time; hopeful that the two Slayers would find them as soon as possible before Glory does.

"Silence, monk" said the leader as he looked away from Dawn and towards Davos, "you just had to protect the Key. We sought to destroy it to prevent something like this from happening, now you have placed us all in danger."

"Glory.. Glory.." said Joyce as she groaned before slowly getting onto her stomach and then standing up on shaky legs, "she… she's dead."

"Mom?"

"Mrs. Summers?' said Davos as he looked at her in shock. He was sure he was thinking the same as the other Knights who looked at each other confused, 'how did she know the weakness of the Beast?'

"You lie" said the leader of the Knights as he walked towards Joyce, "there is only one way to kill the Beast, and it is only known by the Knights on how it can be done."

"Kill the human vessel?" said Joyce as she glared at Gregor while the other Knights just looked at each other. Dawn looked at her mother with eyes, and mouth, wide open in surprise at what was going on and that she wasn't a part of any plans, "my two daughters killed her to protect this world. They killed her human form to…"

"Nonsense" said the leader again.

"It's true" said Joyce, "and they'll tell you themselves."

"Yea" said Dawn shaking her head as she and Davos helped the older blonde to stand up, "you just pissed off Buffy and Faith, two Slayers. Can you imagine two very, very angry Slayers coming after you?"

"Even if there was the very unlikely event that there are two slayers" said Gregor, "and that they really did kill the Beast. The Key is still too dangerous to occupy this plain of existence. It can be used by others for any form of evil, and now…"

"We're not the Key" said Dawn as Gregor looked at her while she pointed to herself, and then at Joyce, "we've been together since….."

"The monks can alter reality" said one of the Knights behind Gregor, "they can create memories so real that it is impossible to know what is true, and what is a lie."

"Either one of you is the Key" said Gregor after the Knight behind him had finished talking before looking at Dawn and Joyce once more, "Either one of you have been sent to the Slayer be protected with her life. That is the truth, for the only things - the only people that the Slayer would protect with her life would be members of her own family."

"Stop" said Joyce as she went down on her knees and started to cry, "I… I'm the Key."

"Mom?" said Dawn in surprise as she looked at the monk open his eyes wide in shock, and then back at Joyce before realizing that she was trying her best to either stall for time, or try to get Dawn out of the current situation they found themselves in.

"Let my daughter go" said Joyce as she hung her head as Dawn hugged her and begging the older blonde to stop talking, while hoping that Davos didn't say anything. Joyce hoped that the drama classes she took in college had come in useful, "please, I beg you. At least let my daughter go. She shouldn't see her mother…."

"When did you know?" asked Davos as Joyce gave a small smile while her hanging blonde hair covered her face. She then looked up in anguish as she told Davos that she received knowledge about who she was from Buffy's friend.

"She… she had a vision" said Joyce looking at Davos, and then at Dawn, "she saw me as just plain energy and… and that's when I knew. We… did our research based on that vision and killed Glory's human vessel. At least Buffy, and Faith did."

"Mom" said Dawn as Joyce looked back at her. The older blonde's heart breaking as she continued to lie to her, at the same time hoping that the Knights would never know that it was a trick. She wanted Dawn out of here, she wanted her youngest daughter away from the Knights and back into the arms of her two sisters. She just wanted to protect Dawn.

"I'm sorry, sweetie" said Joyce, "I'm not your mother. I…"

"No!" shouted Dawn as she teared up and grabbed both sides of Joyce's face, "don't you dare say that. My memories of you are real. Remember the other me, even she….. she said that you died in her reality. You were dead, that she and Buffy buried you and… you are not…. No… no…."

"Silence!" shouted Gregor once again as he took out his sword and pointed it at Joyce, and then at Dawn. He then turned back to the crying Joyce, "what you say may be true. But you are also a mother, you will lie to protect your daughter. So you see, I cannot let any of you go. Not until the spell has been complete."

"No" said Joyce as she stood up, her face suddenly enraged, "you will let her go! And then you can do what you want with me!"

"I am sorry" said the Leader as he took a step back while the people in the red hooded robes started to chant in Latin. Dawn turned around and looked at them as the chanting changed to a language that she didn't understand.

'What is that?' thought Dawn to herself.

"Let her go" said Joyce softly as the leader of the Knights brought his sword straight up, as did the others, "please. Let her go."

"Mom?" said Dawn as Joyce and Davos looked at the young woman who had taken a step back while raising her hands to her face, "mommy, what's happening to me?"

Joyce and Davos could only look on helplessly as green mist slowly started to emanate from the brunette's hands. Dawn could only look, at her hands, and then at her mother before she came to the realization that it was she who was the Key; not Joyce.

"Mommy" said Dawn as she fell onto both knees as Joyce screamed.

"The Key is the link, the link must be severed, such is the will of God" said the Knights as the robed figures chanted even louder.

"Stop" said Joyce as she looked at Dawn panicking before looking at Gregor, and back at Dawn, "stop please."

"You will not remember her after she is destroyed" said the leader of the Knights, "please, I hope you take solace in that. It will be as if she had never existed. In fact, she was never supposed to exist."

"No" shouted Joyce, "she is my daughter, I will not…"

It was then that Joyce turned to look at Dawn, who was now screaming at the top of her lungs as she collapsed onto the floor.

"Dawnie" said Joyce as she rushed to Dawn and collapsed onto on her knees while the Knights repeated their chants.

Dawn could hear a scream off into the distance as she felt herself being torn apart from the inside out. She looked up at Joyce who was opening her mouth, but no sounds seemed to be coming to the brunette's ears as she fell onto her side.

'Mommy' thought Dawn to herself, 'you're not screaming. I am, why am I screaming?'

"Dawn" shouted Joyce as she watched Dawn stop screaming as she just lay there, looking at her with tear filled eyes.

"Mother" said Dawn as Joyce looked on, "the Matrix, it is leaving me.. I… I cannot…."

"Please" shouted Joyce as she looked at the leader of the Knights, "Stop this, please!"

"Be with your daughter" said Gregor in a gentle voice as he looked at Joyce while Dawn let out another scream, "the spell will dissipate and then destroy the Key slowly to ensure its complete and utter destruction. So savour the remaining moments with her for your memories of her will slowly fade away."

"Dawnie" said Joyce as the chanting grew louder and Dawn's screaming stopped while the amount of green mist dissipating from her body increased. Joyce took the brunette's upper body into her arms and cradled her as she looked down into her daughter's eyes.

"I know you" said Dawn softly as she caressed Joyce's cheek, who noticed a change in the way Dawn was speaking, "you are Joyce Summers. Mother of Buffy Summers, Step-Mother of Faith Lehane. My…. My name is Dawn Summers. I am Dawn… I named myself, Dawn."

"Dawnie" said Joyce putting aside the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach as tears fell onto the brunette haired young woman's cheeks, "you'll be alright. You'll see."

It was just then that everyone in the room heard the sounds of weapons fire from outside. Joyce looked up at the leader of the Knights who told his compatriots that the Knights who were brought with them to Sunnydale would be enough to handle the two Slayers and anyone helping them.

"We are prepared to die" said Gregor as he looked back at Joyce, "even if we die, there are thousands more who will continue coming after the Key."

"Dawnie" said Joyce as she looked back down to Dawn while Davos knelt beside the both of them, "they're here. I need you to hang on."

"Mommy" said Dawn as Joyce immediately noticed the change in tone of her voice. She noticed the terrified look in the eyes of her daughter as she tried to suppress a scream, "I… mommy…. What's wrong with me? Where am I?"

"Dawnie" said Joyce, "you're with me."

"Mom! Dawnie!"

"Mrs. S, Dawn!"

"Over Here!" shouted Joyce after she heard Buffy and Faith calling for them, followed by sounds of things breaking in the distance, as well as the sounds of electrical discharges.

"Use Zats!" shouted Major Daniels' voice, "no projectile weapons. Those with projectile weapons hold the fort outside. We have civilians in the crossfire."

"Dawn" said Joyce a she looked back down at her daughter.

"Mommy" said Dawn as she looked at Joyce with eyes opened wide, "I see… I see towers… oh my God…. They are so tall…. A shining city."

"Dawn?" said Joyce as the brunette gave a little scream as the amount of green mist coming out of her body increased. Dawn stopped screaming after a few seconds, before she started to pant as Joyce heard a growl from her left. Looking that way, she saw a dark figure grabbing one of the hooded figures and pushing him aside. She saw the dark figure punch the man out before grabbing his head and screaming in pain.

"Spike?"

"Mommy" said Dawn as she continued to pant while keeping her eyes tightly shut. It was a few seconds later that Dawn opened her eyes again and stopped panting as she looked at Joyce, "Mother, if I do not survive. If… if I am unable to stop the Matrix leaking from this body, know that I thank you for looking after me. You may never remember me again, but I…. I will remember what you have done for me."

Joyce looked at Dawn, surprised once again at the inflections that her daughter was using.

"Dawnie" said Joyce, her eyes red as she looked down at the brunette.

"Mommy" said Dawn as Joyce saw the terrified look return to her face, "mommy, I… I see…."

"What do…" said Joyce as she closed her eyes and sobbed. She then opened her eyes again as she heard the crackling sound of electricity close by as the robed figures were taken down by Zat fire. She heard running footsteps coming closer as the Knights turned around and ran with their swords. Looking back down, she looked back at her terrified daughter and asked her what she saw.

"Towers, mommy" said Dawn as she started to pant as someone shouted that the area was clear before two sets of footsteps ran towards them.

"Dawn!" shouted Buffy and Faith as they came running with Major Daniels close behind them. Buffy and Faith found the door to the cage and ripped it off the hinges before running inside. Joyce looked up at her two daughters who were sweating. She saw that they were wearing vests as they dropped some bloody swords but decided to wait until later to ask how they were able to find them.

"How's the lil'bit?" asked Spike as broke the bars of the other side of the cage and walked inside, looking worried as he rubbed his forehead while looking down at Dawn.

"I smell the water, I can feel the wind" said Dawn softly as she looked at Joyce, "I see the ocean, I'm standing on the ocean and looking up at the stars, mommy. So many stars."

"Dawnie" said Buffy a she leaned forward and caressed her cheek, "you'll be alright."

"You!" said Faith as she grabbed the monk by his collar and picked him off the ground.

"Faith!" shouted Buffy as she looked up at her sister.

"Lehane!" shouted Major Daniels as he rushed to Faith who started to shake Davos.

"Save her!" shouted Faith as she pushed the Major away while Giles and Cordelia ran to Joyce who was carrying Dawn in her arms, "save my sister. Save her."

"I… we… we used three of my brothers to create the new memories" said Davos as he looked into Faith's eyes, "and… and to place the Key into her body. I.. I do not know…"

"She's alive" said Faith as she dropped him back onto the ground, stepped back and pointed a finger at him, "you people are cowards. Instead of hiding the Key somewhere else, you made it into a sister. You people gave the Key a life, and you better make sure that life lives. Do something!"

"Faith" said Buffy as she looked up at the dark haired Slayer, "she.. she's.."

Faith glared at Davos before running over to where Buffy was kneeling next to Dawn. She knelt down next to her adopted sister and mother as she watched Dawn's ear, and then right eye vanish.

"Dawn" said Faith as she tried her best to continue remembering the young girl she was looking at. She could tell that she was slowly losing the memories that were created by the Order of Dagon, and all she wanted to do was hold on for as long as she could, "Dawn, Dawn.. listen to me. You know that leather jacket you wanted. I'd give it to you. I want you to stay, do you understand me?"

"Dawnie" shouted Buffy as she tapped Dawn's cheek as the other eye and mouth vanished.

"Oh God" said Giles as he watched what was happened while holding on to Cordelia, who had her hands covering her mouth in shock at what she was seeing.

Davos could only look on helplessly as he watched what was going on. Before they were zapped unconscious, the hooded figures had already began to unravel the spell that held the key in the form of Dawn. He knew that there was no way that he could do the memory spell, and the containment spell by himself. AS he watched Dawn's friends, including Xander and Anya who had rushed in, and family gather around her, it was then that he came to a realization.

'They still remember her' thought the monk as he opened his eyes wide, 'they still remember her. Which means…'

"Excuse me" said Davos as he rushed to the group. He then asked them to placed Dawn gently on the floor and then step back.

"What will you do?" asked Giles.

"There is not much time" said Davos as he gently pushed Buffy and Faith to one side and knelt down, "please, you still remember who Dawn was. I have to re-establish the containment spell that keeps the Key in this body."

"Can you?" asked Joyce as she looked at Davos.

"Yes" said the man gently as Joyce placed Dawn gently on the ground and stood up. She then took a few steps back, as did all the others while Davos placed his hands over Dawn's body. Everyone soon heard the man starting to chant as the entire area begun shaking. Everyone tried to keep their balance while looking on as the green mist that was coming out from Dawn earlier started to retreat back into her body. She then saw Dawn's eyes and ears reappear as everyone looked on in shock as she turned her head and looked at Joyce with a small smile on her face.

'Not at me' thought Joyce as she turned around and looked behind her, 'behind me.'

Joyce then turned back while Faith and Buffy were holding their hands as they watched the green mist heading back into Dawn's body. However, it was the Summers matriarch who noticed the look in her youngest daughter's eyes; the look of someone who had seen years of battle, the same look that she sometimes would see in Buffy's eyes after a night of Slaying.

" _Goodbye, mother_ " said Dawn in Ancient as a small wind brushed the back of Joyce's hair, before a warmth went through her body. It was soon followed by a feeling that everything would be good from that point onwards. The tremors soon stopped as Davos collapsed onto his side and Dawn sat up confused as she looked at her surroundings before settling her eyes on Joyce, Buffy, Faith and the others.

"Mom? Guys?" asked the young woman, "where are we? What happened?"

"Dawn!" shouted Joyce as she ran towards her daughter, got on her knees and hugged the brunette tightly, "Dawnie, my Dawnie."

"Mommy" said Dawn as she looked at everyone around her confused while she was being hugged, "what's going on? The last thing I remember was being in Faith's room during the attack by these Monty Python rejects. After that…."

"You don't remember?" asked Faith as she knelt beside Dawn, as Joyce pulled away from the hug, before hugging her tight.

"Faith" said Dawn as she struggled for breath, "oxygen…. becoming…. Issue…."

"Sorry" said Faith as she wiped her eyes before Buffy gave the young girl a hug.

"Hey" said Dawn, "seriously, what happened? Wait, that's that monk guy at our house, right? Wait, where are we?"

"We'll tell you everything once you're back home" said Major Daniels as he patted Dawn's shoulder before looking at Giles who was taking Davos' pulse, "is he?"

"He's gone" said Giles as he closed the monk's eyelids before looking up at Faith who was locking down at the floor.

"It was his choice, Faith" said Giles as Buffy looked at the look of despair on her sister, the same look that the blonde Slayer had when they killed Ben, "he sacrificed his life to save Dawn."

"Guys" said Spike and Xander as they pointed at Davos' body.

"Huh?" said Giles as he looked back down at the body which started to glow white. Dropping the body, Giles quickly went back onto his feet and stepped back as the glow started to get brighter, and brighter. It was only a few seconds later that everyone, including a surprised Dawn, saw Davos' clothes collapse onto the floor as a bright white light rose into the air before it sped off, and vanished into thin air.

"Ok" said Dawn as she looked at Joyce, Buffy and Faith, "now I really wanna know what just happened."

While everyone looked on stunned before helping a very confused Dawn and the others stand up; in a corner of the warehouse stood two unseen figures.

"Thank you, Sarah" said Melina as she stood next to one Sarah Maclay, "I wasn't able to ascend him since…. Since…"

"I know" said Sarah as she lay her hand gently on Melina's shoulder. She then looked at Xander, followed by Anya and Cordelia, gently guiding a still very confused Dawn away with Joyce following closely behind them, "she was able to see the truth for a little while."

"Yes" said Melina looking on as Joyce suddenly stopped while the other military personnel of the IPR were gathering the fallen Knights, as well as the robed figures, "I locked her memories of her time on Atlantis, and her ascension, away. She would have been able to retrieve them once she, or rather, if she re-ascended."

"And she almost did" said Sarah as the both of them saw Joyce looking around.

"She senses us" said Melina as she looked at the confusion etched on Joyce's face.

"She is a mother after all" said Sarah with a small smile, "just as we once were."

"She will guard Hera with her life" replied Melina as Joyce shook her head and walked away, "once the monk had finished the spell to reseal the Key within her body, the locks on Hera's memories re-established themselves. She will not remember what she saw; she will not remember Atlantis, Athena, Moros, The Wraith or anyone else. Not even me. But the side effect of the locks engaging is that she lost her short term memory. She will not remember that she is the Key, and I trust these people to not tell her that she is someone who has the capability to destroy the world."

"Which is good" said Sarah nodding her head as more Knights were gathered while the military personnel waited for transport to take them to the IPR where they would be debriefed once they had awoken, "she's still a young woman with her future ahead of her. She may find out when she is older, but she should enjoy her life right now."

"Yes" said Melina as she turned to Sarah, "have you checked on Tara?"

"She's doing great in Colorado Springs" said Sarah as the both of them turned and walked through the wall and into the night, "but she misses Willow."

Melina nodded her head as the both of them started to glow.

"I can see things changing" said Melina looking back at Sarah, "for good, and for ill."

"They can handle whatever comes their way" said Sarah with a smile.

"Indeed" replied Melina as the both of them glowed brighter before vanishing into thin air.

TBC.

 


	53. Chapter 53

**Abandoned Warehouse, North side of Sunnydale, 2250 hours.**

Joyce had seen a lot since finding out that Buffy was a Slayer; vampires, demons, another Slayer in the form of Faith, a younger daughter that shouldn't exist, and just a few minutes ago she had seen a man become a white glowing ball of light that raced up towards the ceiling and vanished. She noticed the looks on the people around her; especially the look on Giles who was just as confused at what was going on.

A few minutes later, as Buffy and Faith walked a trembling, and confused Dawn, away from the cage, Joyce followed close behind with questions and that were swimming in her head. Suddenly, she stopped walking before turning around and scanning the area around her. Joyce could feel that someone was looking directly at her, and it wasn't the IPR personnel who were rounding up the unconscious, but still breathing Knights who were lying on the floor following the Zat blasts.

'No' thought Joyce to herself as she looked around, 'something else. It's not dangerous, but…. it's strange.'

"Mom?" asked Buffy as she and the others stopped before turning around and looking at the older blonde, "you coming?"

"Yes" said Joyce as she looked around one more time before rushing towards her daughters. It wasn't long before they exited the warehouse and both Dawn and Joyce saw some bullet riddled bodies of Knights being covered with sheets on the ground, as the sounds of sirens wailed in the distance. Major Daniels told Joyce that the police and ambulance services were called to take away the dead, while the injured would be placed under guard in the Sunnydale Memorial's special Wing.

"The others will be taken with us to the IPR where they'll be debriefed" said the Major, "I've got Captain Graham working on that."

"How did you find us?" asked Joyce as she followed Dawn and the others into the back of a SUV. The Major then followed Joyce inside, along with Spike, before telling her that Spike was the one who smelled blood in Faith's room.

"Found a spot of the red stuff on broken glass" said Spike as he pointed at Joyce's leg. It was then that the older blonde looked down and noticed that her jeans were ripped at her ankle. Lifting her leg, she noticed that there was a white coloured bandage wrapped around the ankle tightly. Closing her eyes, Joyce recalled that once they had closed the door to Faith's room when the Knights broke into their house; she heard a loud crash behind her, and then when she turned around, she saw a round device on the carpet surrounded by broken glass on the floor, and then she saw the broken glass on the window frame. It was soon followed by a bright flash of light before she felt herself falling onto the floor. Shaking her head off the memory, she then heard Spike say that they were lucky the Knights didn't use cars. He was able to go ahead of the IPR personnel, Buffy, and Faith to follow the scent of blood before calling for backup once he reached the warehouse.

"Thank you" said Joyce as Spike nodded his head.

"Don't get too used to it yeah" said Spike as he leaned back on the seat while looking out the window. Sensing that everyone was looking back at him, spike turned back towards them again, "seriously? Just so you remember… I'm evil."

"You're a kitten" said the Major as Spike narrowed his eyes at him

It was then that Major Daniels' phone started to ring. Picking it up and connecting the call, he placed it on his ear and nodded his head before handing the phone over to Dawn.

"It's Xander and Anya in the other SUV" said the Major as he looked at Dawn, and then at Joyce who nodded her head. While the Major turned and talked to Spike, Joyce continued to look at Dawn who was talking on the phone to Xander and Anya, while Faith and Buffy held on to the youngest girl.

Joyce still recalled the look on Dawn's face when she spoke, unknown to Joyce and anyone at the time, in Ancient. She saw her eyes, and for a second could have sworn that not only did she look as if her youngest daughter had seen years of war and battle, but her eye's had changed colour.

'Just for a few seconds' thought Joyce to herself, 'we know my memories of Dawn aren't real, but I also know that everything feels real to me. I remember her first words; I remember her first steps… I remember her in my arms the day she was born. But then, there's the look that was on her face.. the pain in her eyes when she spoke the strange language. And the way she spoke. Alternating between frightened and… and I don't know…. This is so strange."

"Dawn" said Joyce after the brunette put down the phone and returned it to the Major, "do you remember anything?"

"No, mom" said Dawn as Buffy and Faith looked at each other.

"What was the last thing you remember?" asked Buffy as she looked at her sister.

"The window in Faith's room breaking" said Dawn as she looked at Joyce and then at everyone else, "and then a bright light. Next thing I know, I'm sitting up at that place while the monk guys fell on the ground."

It was then that Buffy and the others had it confirmed that Dawn didn't know that she was the key. Joyce closed her eyes and thanked the monk for removing the memories of what the leader of the Knights had told her; that the Key was dangerous for the world at large, and that the Knight would continue to try and destroy it.

'She doesn't need that on her shoulders' thought Joyce to herself as she saw Dawn look at Buffy while smiling, 'but… but the things she said. Stars in the sky, a towering and shining city… standing in the ocean… like she was talking about being in another place. I wonder…. No.. the monk said they made the body. But what Dawn said… it was as if she… was… no. It cant be…. It sounded like she was someone else. She said that I may not remember her, but she'll always remember me…. and then she thanked me for looking after her. Dawnie… my Dawnie… you said you named yourself Dawn… that means… that implies…. Oh God."

Joyce looked at Dawn as she laughed while she was dotted on by both Faith and Buffy. She looked at Dawn's smile, and then heard her laughter before shaking her head. Dawn was her daughter, whatever or whoever she is, or was, Dawn would forever be her daughter.

'My Dawnie' thought the older blonde as she suddenly felt a searing pain in her head.

"Mrs Summers?" asked the Major as he noticed the older blonde rubbing her forehead, "are you alright?"

"Mom?" said Dawn and Buffy together.

"Mrs. S?" asked a concerned Faith as she saw Joyce take two hands and rub the sides of her head.

"I'm alright" said the older woman, "just a headache."

"Ma'am" said the Major as he approached Joyce who just looked at him strangely.

"Who are you?" asked Joyce as she looked at him before looking at the concerned faces of the others, "where…. Why? Who are you people?"

"Mom" said Dawn as she watched in horror as Joyce's eyes rolled back as the Major grabbed her before she fell. He then laid her on a seat in the SUV while Buffy, Faith and Dawn came up to the older woman. The Major then turned and told the driver that they needed to get to the hospital. Turning around again, the man saw the unconscious Joyce surrounded by the girls, with Spike just looking on with concern.

**Sunnydale Memorial Hospital, 0800 hours.**

Joyce felt the soft mattress beneath her, as well as hearing the sounds of the beeping to her left side before opening her eyes slowly. Looking around, she found herself in a strange room, and then she settled on the body of her oldest daughter who was sleeping on a cot while covered in a blanket. She then looked at her wrist and noticed the needle that was attached, which led to an I.V bag to her right side. Hearing the beeps again, Joyce turned and saw the waves on the heart monitor, as well as the measurements of her blood oxygen levels, as well as her blood pressure.

'I'm in the hospital' thought Joyce to herself as she turned to look at Buffy before she looked at the door which opened as a nurse walked in.

"Good morning, Mrs. Summers" said the nurse softly, trying not to wake up Buffy as Joyce blinked her eyes, trying to rid of the cobwebs in her vision.

"Morning" said a still groggy Joyce as she saw movement under Buffy's blanket. She then gave a small smile as Buffy quickly sat up when the older blonde had spoken. She then turned her body and placed her bare feet on the floor while at the same time wiping her eyes with the back of her hands, and then getting up and rushing towards her mother.

"Mom" said Buffy as she stood on the cold floor on the other side of the bed, while the nurse was taking some readings, and then writing it down on her clipboard, "mom, you're at Sunnydale Memorial… you fainted in the van."

"Right" said the woman softly as she closed her eyes, "Dawn? Is she ok?"

"Yeah" said Buffy, "she and Faith are staying with Giles. These guys could have only one family member stay overnight so…"

"Sorry" said the nurse as she wrote some things down on her clipboard before looking back up at Joyce, "hospital policy."

"What happened?" asked Joyce as she looked at Buffy, and then at the nurse.

The nurse and the Slayer looked at each other before Buffy looked away and caressed Joyce's cheek. And then gently ran her hand through the older blonde's hair.

"Buffy?"

"You… um…. You…."

"Mrs Summers" said the nurse as she saw how difficult it was for Buffy to speak, "your regular doctor would be able to better explain what's going on, but you when you came in… there were standing orders to run a scan on your brain. It was set up by your doctor in case you had to come in for an emergency and he wasn't available."

"Ok" said Joyce with concern etched on her face.

"All I can tell you is that we took the scans and he came in immediately after the scans were complete, and the diagnostician looked it over" said the nurse, "he found a shadow in your brain."

"What?" asked Joyce as she looked at the nurse, and then at Buffy who was looking down on the floor with tears in her eyes.

"He.. he told me and Faith" said Buffy as she recalled waiting in a holding room while the scans were done with everyone there. She remembered the doctor coming out of the lab and asking to speak with Buffy, but since she didn't want to go alone…. Faith had gone with her while leaving Dawn with Giles and the others, "we explained as best as we could to Dawn so she knows about what's going on, she's a little freaked out but… but Faith and Giles are making sure she… she knows….."

"For now" said the nurse as she looked at Buffy, and then down at Joyce, "all I can tell you is that the doctor will explain in greater detail. He'll be coming by here in about an hour to talk you through the next step.

"Operation?" asked Joyce.

"Yes" said the nurse as she gave a small smile while Buffy held on to Joyce's hand tightly, "it's been done many times, Mrs. Summers. You'll be alright."

Joyce gave the nurse a small smile before she nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Buffy and Joyce alone.

"Mom" said Buffy as she grabbed a chair and placed it next to her as sat down, "this… was this there before? I mean the last time? I mean, was the shadow there the last time you came for a scan?"

"No" said Joyce as she looked at her daughter, "the last scan that I went to was clear. I know I didn't tell you.. I just didn't want you to be worried that…"

"Mom" said Buffy as she tightened her hold on the blonde's hand, "I'm here now. You'll be alright.. you'll see. I called Tara, and she said that she'll be coming as soon as she could. She couldn't get a flight out from Colorado Springs until today.. I'm just waiting for a call and…"

"Buffy" said Joyce as she smiled at her daughter, "she doesn't have to come. She's busy with her life… it's not good to have her come all the way here and…"

"But…" said Buffy as Joyce raised an eyebrow, the same move she used to do when Buffy or Dawn wouldn't listen to her when they were younger; a move that said 'if you don't follow what I tell you to do.. then you're in so much trouble'.

"I'll talk to her, Buffy" said Joyce as she gave a small smile, "there's no need to make a big fuss…"

"Mom" said Buffy, "there's a shadow and…."

"And they'll take it out of my head" replied Joyce, "I'll talk to Tara, tell her there's no need to come all this way."

"Alright" said Buffy as she took out a cell phone and dialled a number. When the other side started to ring, she handed the phone back to Joyce.

"Hi, Tara" said Joyce smiling as she looked at Buffy, "we need to talk."

**SGC, Colorado Springs, one month later.**

It had been a long, long month for Tara. She not only received news that Joyce had a tumour in her brain that never showed when she had done her previous scan, she was also told by the older blonde that she didn't have to go to Sunnydale. Tara was told that leaving for Sunnydale just to see her would interrupt her classes, and that she shouldn't worry about anything… that the doctors have experience in operating on this kind of a tumour and that everything would be alright.

However, it was a few hours later following Tara's talk with Joyce that Buffy told the blonde witch that an emergency operation was set up for the next day. So the next day, it was a surprise to Joyce as Tara was one of the people to see her off into the operating theatre. And she was one of the people there when Joyce came out of the operating theatre when the doctor said that the tumour was taken out.

Tara had stayed in Sunnydale for about a week while Joyce recovered from her operation, and it was during that time she learnt everything that happened with the monk from the Order of Dagon, followed by the destruction of Glory's worshippers which was lead by Xander and Anya, the atomization of Ben's body, and the defeat of the Knights of Byzantium. The blonde witch was told that the IPR had told the Knights that, in no uncertain terms, were they to reveal anything about Dawn to the other Knights.

"If they come after Dawn again" said Cordelia as she sat next to Tara while in the formers office, "then the military will be going after them, and taking them down hard."

"Oh" said Tara as she took a sip of tea.

"Major Daniels, Giles and Captain Graham convinced them that it would be in their best interests to help us fight the demons, vampires and monsters that lie out in the world" said Cordelia as Tara nodded her head, "they've got the training so they don't need that, they're good with weapons…. So yeah. If there's anything really, really big.. and with the luck of those who stay on the Hellmouth…"

"You're gonna need it" said Tara with a smile.

"Yep" replied Cordelia as she leaned back, "you know, I'm actually glad you came by."

"You are?" asked Tara.

"Well, we need a powerful witch and while I know that you want to stay in Colorado Springs so that you're close to Willow. I was hoping you could help us with another powerful witch? Powerful according to Giles, anyway."

It was at that moment that Giles came in carrying a cage that had a rat lying in one corner. The man then put the caged rat down in the middle of the room and introduced Tara to Amy Madison.

In a few days since arriving in Sunnydale for Joyce's operation, Tara succeeded in transforming Amy back to her human form. Following her transformation, Giles and Tara realized that the now former rat had no idea that at least a year had went by without her knowing about it. However, Giles also know that she was a disturbed individual who was emotionally abused by her own mother.

"She took over Amy's body" said Giles after the newly human Amy was taken away in a blanket so that she could be given some new clothes, and debriefed.

The Watcher then asked Cordelia if he could get in someone from a coven in Devon who would be able to help Amy come to terms with her ordeal as a rat, and train the young woman in her powers. In the meantime, a counsellor could talk to her about her experiences with her mother.

Tara smiled as Cordelia nodded her head at the idea. It was at the end of the week that Tara said goodbye to the Summers clan, Faith, and the others before heading back to Colorado Springs. Once she returned in the weekend, Tara immediately went to visit Willow and told her that Joyce was doing well now, that she seemed to have fully recovered from the operation. She also told the redhead about what happened to Dawn, the Monk, and that they had destroyed Ben's body so there was no chance for a resurrection.

"Phew" said Willow as they walked together. Willow had her hands in her pockets while Tara clasped her hands together in front of her while looking around, "so, the monk became some white light? Huh?"

"That's what they told me" said Tara as they walked close together, but without touching. Soon, they came up to a table and the both of them took a seat facing each other.

"So Amy?" said Willow before she asked how Amy was doing.

"She's got a long way to go" said Tara as she leaned forward, her hands on the table as she tried to unconsciously reach for Willow, but stopping herself when she noticed at she was inching closer and closer to Willow. Pulling back, Tara looked at her hands and then looked up.

"I'm making this hard on you" said Willow as she looked down at the grass before glancing up at Tara again, "I know.. I mean it's hard on me too not to… you know… see you everyday."

Tara looked around to make sure that they were alone before she gave Willow a small smile.

"Remember when we went to the roof of Stevenson Hall?" asked Tara as Willow gave a big grin.

"We placed a brick to hold the door so that we didn't get locked out" replied Willow, "and then I remember the small picnic we had."

"That was before I found out about the Stargate" said Tara, "but just lying there, with you, and looking at the stars."

"The big pineapple?" said Willow as Tara gave a giggle remembering the strange constellation in the night sky.

"The piggy bank?" said Tara with a smirk on her face as Willow smiled.

"I'm looking forward to that again" said Willow as she looked at Tara, "just you and me, looking up at the stars."

"I'm not going anywhere, Willow" said Tara as she looked at the redhead, "it's going to be hard for the both of us. But…. but once you're done, then… then we lay down, and look at the stars."

"Then we're moving in together" said Willow as she gave a small smile, "I wanna live with you."

"Me too" said Tara with a smile when she suddenly tapped her hands on the table, "oh, oh, Mrs Summers said that we're going to her house for Thanksgiving, and Christmas."

"My parents should be back in Sunnydale for Christmas" said Willow, "wanna meet the parents?"

"O.. ok" said Tara, "at least they sound better than my dad."

"OH, they won't kidnap you" said Willow as Tara smiled, "my mom will probably judge me for my lifestyle choice, while my dad frowns a lot….. but they'll like you more that your dad."

"I don't know how I feel about that" laughed Tara while Willow grinned.

The two of them continued to talk until it was time for Tara to leave. Tara would continue to visit Willow every weekend without fail, and she would tell the redhead stories about how her week went. However, there was one story that occurred a month after the incident with Dawn that Tara couldn't tell Willow about; it was Tara's first real experience with the inherent dangers with working at the SGC. It was the day that the blonde witch had come face to face with a foothold situation.

TBC.

 


	54. Chapter 54

**SGC, Colorado Springs, one month after incident with Dawn; 1300 hours.**

After moving to Colorado Springs, and living with Dr. Fraiser, Cassie and their dog, Rover, Tara's been enrolled at the university with a major in Anthropology. While keeping busy with her classes, and visiting Willow at the Academy on the weekends, Tara would be spending most of her days at the SGC keeping bust by helping Daniel as his research assistant. It all worked for the blonde as her classes were paid for, she had a job after graduation at the same place as her girlfriend, she had a place to stay with the older redhead and Cassie who already saw her as a big sister.

However, ever since she started being Daniel's research assistant in the mountain; she was required at the very least to learn how to fire a Zat, and some basic hand to hand techniques which was taught by Major Carter; and if the officer was off-world, one of the other female airmen would train her. It was actually Daniel's idea that she take a more substantial martial arts course, especially with what happened to her with her family back in Sunnydale.

It was something that Tara agreed with, and so.. the archaeologist and Colonel O'Neill later introduced her to one of the instructors at the SGC who had been teaching aikido to some of the civilians who were working there. It was something that she had been into since she started at the SGC, and Tara loved every minute of it.

A month after returning from Sunnydale, Tara was heading to the SGC from the university after having finished her classes for the day. Using money that her mother had left her, Tara bought a used car so that she didn't have to trouble Dr. Fraiser all the time with rides to and from the university, to the SGC, and then to Dr. Fraiser's home where Tara was staying. It was something that the doctor, and Cassie, had insisted on. As she drove up to the front gate, Tara smiled at the guard and handed him the I.D that General Hammond had made for her. It was a few seconds later that the guard wrote something on his clipboard before waving her through.

Smiling, Tara drove through the now open gates and into the mountain. Parking her car next to Major Carter's Volvo, the blonde witch turned off the engine before picking up her backpack from the passenger side seat. Slinging the backpack over her shoulder, Tara walked towards the main lobby after locking her car door. Pushing the door's that were embossed with the NORAD logo, Tara smiled and nodded at the guard who was seated behind a desk to her right.

Tara reached into her pocket and took out a keycard after she entered the elevator car. Putting the card into the slot, Tara pressed the button for the tenth floor. Tara was aware that Daniel was going to be off-world, and was due back in thirty minutes, so she wanted to get a head start on some projects that he asked her to take care off. After getting off on the tenth floor, Tara smiled at the guard as he opened the other elevator door for her before entering the car. Tara swiped the card in the slot again before heading for level twenty two. Humming to herself as the elevator went down, she stepped back when it stopped at the sixteenth floor and two airmen walked in. Tara looked at them as the came in, and then gave them a small smile before looking down at the floor.

She could her them talking about a toxic spill that took place but Tara knew that there was something wrong. She could feel it in her soul. Glancing up at the two men as they talked to each other, she then turned her eyes floorward again when she noticed an aura that didn't feel human.

'Demonic?' thought Tara to herself as she looked up at the panel that indicated which floor they were on, 'two more floors to go. This is demonic possession? No… I'd know. This aura is…. It as if I'm seeing someone else while the true form is being hidden… no that's not it…'

Tara looked up when the elevator stopped as the two men made space for Tara to leave. Realizing that maybe something was wrong with just the two men in front of her, Tara guessed that they'll become suspicious if she didn't leave. So holding her bag close to her chest, Tara squeezed in between the two men while smiling at them as they looked back at her. Tara walked backwards into the lobby as the two men nodded at her before the doors closed. It was then that she looked up when an announcement came over the speakers about a hazardous material transfer, and that all personnel had to remain at their posts.

Guessing that there was something wrong with the two men, Tara turned and rushed towards another elevator to go down to the twenty seventh floor so that she could talk to General Hammond. As she was walking she saw two Airmen coming towards her with rifles in their hands. It was then that Tara stopped when she noticed the same type of aura, and inhuman aura, as the two men in the elevator. Walking past them without making a scene, Tara looked back over her shoulder as the men stopped and looked at each other. One of them then picked up his radio, while the other one looked at Tara.

Her head back in front, Tara walked quickly round a corner before she heard footsteps coming after her. With her backpack, Tara then started to run.. passing by more personnel who she now believed could have been possessed. The footsteps behind her, plus the voices of the men she had passed by earlier telling others to search for her, Tara headed towards the other elevator. However, she stopped in shock when she saw two more people inside the car with the strange aura's. Changing direction before she could be seen, Tara headed into another hallway before hearing voices on the radio of an Airman who was at the end of the hallway, guarding a door.

Before she could be spotted, Tara opened the door to a supply closet and ran in before closing it.

"Conceal" said Tara as she raised her hand after she turned around and faced the door.

After casting a cloaking spell, Tara put her backpack down on the floor before she opened the door slightly, enough for her to peek through a small gap as the Airmen who were following her ran past the supply closet door.

'To them it's just a wall' thought Tara to herself as she continued to look out the door as five Airmen looked around confused. They asked the Airman at the end of the hall if he had seen Tara, but all he did was shake his head before telling them that she didn't run past him.

"Have you located her?" came General Hammond's voice on the radio as Tara looked through the gap with her eyes wide open. The Airmen said that they hadn't, that they were still searching for her and that both elevators were now guarded so that they could look out for her. The General's voice then became angry as he spoke on the radio, saying that Tara's abilities were a danger to their plans to invade the planet. That after they had taken the SGC, then they needed to infiltrate the Pentagon, and then the IPR, "keep searching. I want the entire twenty second floor under lockdown. But once she is found, I want her to be stunned, and taken to level twenty three."

"Understood" said one of the Airman before he looked up at his colleagues, then opened his mouth before making a loud screeching sound.

At that sound, Tara gently closed the door before she started to breathe heavily as she paced inside the supply closet. She put her hands over her head as the look on her face revealed her horror at the situation she found herself in. She then crouched on the floor with her hands over her face as she struggled to control her fear; her fear of the one thought going in her mind.

'Invasion' thought Tara to herself as she tried to control herself from tearing up, 'i… I'm alone… Major Daniels.. yea, I'll call him but… no… he'll take too long to come here and they may end up possessed as well. What can I do… I.. I've just had a few months of Zat, hand to hand and aikido training… and… oh goddess."

Tara looked up at the door as she tried to calm herself. She knew that she could try and make it out of the SGC, but that would be risky as the guard on the tenth floor could have been possessed by now.

'Stop!' thought Tara to herself, 'stop being a coward. Think… think… Daniel and the others get back in thirty minutes. But if I don't do anything.. then.. then they'll be… are these really aliens or did something possess them. Alien ghosts? Body snatchers? Whatever it is, Daniel and the others will be coming back to a trap.'

Tara closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to clear her mind.

'Forgive me, Willow' thought Tara to herself as she looked at the palm of her hand and a blue sphere of energy appeared. Tara knew that she was taking a huge risk; she had always told Willow about the dangers of magic since they met… that it should never be used for personal gain, 'use it to protect others.'

Tara remembered that Willow told her she didn't want to use magic.. that her alternate showed her a life without it, and she wanted to aim for that kind of a life.

'What will you think of me?' thought Tara to herself as she walked to the door and opened it slightly. Tara saw two airmen just walk past her. She watched them walk away, and then noticed the Zat's that were hanging by their sides, 'goddess, please protect me… and the ones that get hurt by what I have to do.'

Tara watched as the two Airmen continued walking as she opened the door even further before dispelling the illusion. Stepping out into the hallway, behind the two Airmen, Tara heard a gasp behind her.

'No' thought Tara to herself as she turned around and fired the blue ball of energy that hit the Airman who was running towards her and pushed him back onto the floor where he lay unconscious. Turning around when she heard the two Airmen who just passed her come running back, Tara fired off another two energy balls as they raised their rifles at her; knocking them unconscious.

"Sorry" whispered Tara as she ran to the fallen Airmen and took one of their Zats. Squeezing the lower section, Tara activated the Zat. It was then, while crouched next to the unconscious body of the Airman, that she noticed flashes of light under his fatigues. Unbuttoning the top two buttons, Tara bent lower and noticed a device that was attached to his chest. Looking back up to her front and hearing footsteps walking away, and then looking behind her at the unconscious Airman, Tara looked back down at the device before placing her hand on it and pulling it off.

It was then that Tara stumbled back while giving a loud gasp as the male Airman who was unconscious melted away to reveal a tall, strange looking purple alien. Looking at the alien with her eyes wide open in shock, Tara then looked at the device in her hand and placed it on the alien's arm again as an image of the same male Airman appeared. Tara took the device off again when she heard footsteps coming towards her. Putting the device on her chest, Tara saw herself change into the image of the Airman before she raised the Zat on the fallen alien.

'Forgive me' thought Tara to herself as she remembered what Colonel O'Neill had told her about the Zat. After firing the weapon three times, the body vanished before the disguised Tara lay down on the floor as the footsteps became faster after the Zat blasts, 'please, I wish I'm a decent actress.'

"Hey" said one of the Airmen as the disguised Tara groaned before she got up and looked at the strange auras, the confirmed alien auras, "what happened? We heard a Zat go off."

"The woman" said Tara as one of the Airmen helped her stand while the other one tried to revive the other Airmen, "she used some ability… we surprised her."

"Where is she?" asked the Airman as Tara looked at him.

"She's no longer a threat" said Tara as, unknown to the Airman, her left arm was shaking at the thought of what she just did.

"Report to General Hammond" said the Airman, "he'll like to know why she wasn't taken prisoner for experimentation. You know what his orders were, now you have to answer to him. Go."

Tara nodded her head before taking off running in her disguise, now with a new thought going off in her head.

'If that man was an alien body snatcher' thought Tara to herself, 'then where is the real Airmen?'

Tara then walked towards the elevator in the Airman's image. Walking inside with another Airman, Tara pressed the button for the twenty seventh floor and then stood as calm as possible as the elevator went down. Unknown to Tara, however, the Airman whose image the alien had taken was slowly waking up in one of the rooms in level twenty three where he found himself hanging many feet off the ground.

Once they reached the twenty seventh floor, Tara walked out with the two Airmen. It was a few minutes later that they arrived at General Hammonds office where Dr. Fraiser was looking at her male disguise. Although Tara had spent only a few months at the SGC since coming to Colorado Springs, she had seen the basics on how personnel treated each other on the base; even Daniel gave her pointers whenever she asked question on interactions between the different ranks. So now, as he face General Hammond…. Tara knew that she had to act as if her life depended on it, because it did.

"Sir" said Tara as she stood up straight while the General, who Tara could see from his aura was another alien who was wearing the image of General Hammond. She kept on telling herself that she was doing the right thing by staying in the SGC, that if she left.. then it would be like running away.

'Or maybe I should have thought this through?' thought Tara to herself as the General continued to tell the image of the Airman that he wanted Tara brought in alive so that she could be experimented on, that the abilities that were in General Hammond's memory were interesting, 'stop it Maclay, if you leave then you place everyone here in danger; just play the part.. just play the part.'

"Sorry, sir" said Tara as she looked straight ahead, "the woman used some form of energy blast to take down one of the Airmen. When she turned on us, I shot her three times.. however she still hit me with abilities."

"You should have just stunned her" said Dr. Fraiser as she rubbed her forehead in frustration, "no matter, we have read the file on the red haired one. As well as the one that the humans call Slayers."

Tara tried to remain calm as they talked about Buffy, Willow and Faith.. and how they were willing to experiment on them. However, they said that their first target was both Teal'c and Major Carter since they wanted to find a way to defeat the Goa'uld which they considered the main power in this galaxy.

"Come with me" said Dr. Fraiser as she walked around General Hammond's table and tapped Tara on her shoulder, "we have to….."

It was then that the Klaxons blared as Walter's voice called out for a unscheduled off-world activation. The General then looked at Dr. Fraiser, and furrowed their eyebrows before asking who it could be; that the next team wasn't due to return for another fifteen minutes.

"I'll go" said General Hammond, "Dr. Fraiser, take the Airman with you to the infirmary."

"Understood" said the fake doctor as she and Tara left General Hammond's office.

Tara followed the fake Dr. Fraiser to the infirmary where she was left standing guard at the door. Her heart racing, Tara was hoping that Daniel and the others would be coming in through the gate. It took a little while, but she tried to hide the grin that was threatening to form on her face when she saw Colonel O'Neill and the rest of SG-1 being led towards the infirmary by two Airmen. Once they walked past Tara, and closed the doors behind them; Tara walked into the infirmary and swathe four of them being led to beds for their post-mission checkups.

Silently casting a protection spell over SG-1, Tara looked at the cameras in the room. She then cast a hallucinatory spell over anyone watching the camera's. The blonde had no idea if this would work, but she needed to try something because if they were watching this area… then they'll be caught after doing what she was planning to do.

'Only one way to know if the spell worked' thought Tara to herself as she stepped forward.

"Jack" said the disguised Tara as Major Carter and the others looked back at her.

"Airman" said Colonel O'Neill, "show some…"

"Get down" said Tara as she waved her hand and magically threw the fake Dr. Fraiser and the nurses against the wall while throwing the Zat over to the Colonel. She then took off the device while the rest of SG-1 looked on in shock at the image of the Airman disappearing and revealing Tara in his place, "everyone's an alien."

The Colonel saw three airmen coming towards them and he shot off three shots using the Zat, stunning them before nodding at the Major, Daniel and Teal'c to drag them into the infirmary.

"Tara" said Daniel as he rushed towards her, "what are you doing here? I asked you to take the day off."

"I… I wanted to get a head start on things" said Tara as Teal'c walked up to Daniel, followed by the Major, and the Colonel O'Neill who had already looked out the doors of the infirmary for anyone coming by, "ummm… I know General Hammond has been body snatched and…"

"Tara?" asked the Major as the blonde witch rushed to the unconscious Dr. Fraiser and searched for the device on her chest. Upon finding it, Tara took it off and handed it to Major Carter as the other walked towards the purple alien who was lying were the image of the doctor used to be, "a holographic disguise."

Tara nodded her head as the Major put the device that Tara just handed her to her chest while Colonel O'Neill walked towards the alien and crouched down. He told Daniel and Teal'c to keep a lookout on the infirmary door for anyone coming towards them. Nodding their heads, Daniel and Teal'c took the rifles from the men and then went to the doors, looking out the door window for signs of anyone approaching.

"If these guys are aliens" said the Colonel as he looked at another device on their head, "then where's the real Fraiser?"

"I… I think.. I mean… I overheard some of them talking about scanning people on the twenty third floor" said Tara, "I.. I think that maybe the real bodies could be there."

"Carter" said the Colonel as he called to the Major who walked over to him and crouched down. She looked at the device in the aliens head that the Colonel had pointed out.

"Ummmm" said the Major in her disguise as Dr. Fraiser while brushing her fingers against the device, "it's just a guess sir, but if these aliens wanted to take over the SGC.. then they need to know everything there is to know about us, they need our tactics, our codes… everything to effectively invade the SGC. So I'm thinking that I;s a device to access the memories of the ones its copying? I can't be sure but wearing the device now, I'm not getting any of Dr. Fraiser's memories.. I just look like her."

"I… umm…" said Tara as she put her hand while the officers looked at her, "do you think that the original body will die if the alien dies?"

"I doubt it" said the Major as she looked back at the alien, missing the relief that was on Tara's face, "if these aliens needs the real bodies for their memories.. at least until they've invaded… then the real bodies should remain alive. I mean, I can't be sure but.. it makes sense."

"Why, Tara?" asked Daniel.

"I…. umm… I kinda killed one" she said as everyone looked back at her, even Teal'c who raised an eyebrow, "It.. it was an accident.. I mean people, these aliens, were looking for me and I was him so I shot the Zat at him three times and…"

"You did good" said Colonel O'Neill as Tara gave a deep breath, "but now, we've got a base full of aliens."

"Any ideas?"

"Carter" said the Colonel, "are you sure that the real bodies these things are getting their memories from won't die?"

"I… I'm pretty sure" said the Major as she looked at the Colonel.

"Collect all the imaging devices" said Colonel O'Neill as the others begin collecting the other devices, revealing the other aliens who were lying unconscious in the room. The Colonel then zatted them three times until they vanished, hoping that he hadn't killed off Dr. Fraiser. He then stood up and told Teal'c and Daniel to check the five storage rooms on the twenty third floor for the real bodies of Dr. Fraiser, nurses and the airmen they just killed. He told them that he guessed that these aliens wanted to make copies of their bodies as well, so they'll use that against them. He told Daniel and Teal'c to go on to the twenty third floor, and then use the armoury there to get some radio's and Zats. As they left the infirmary while carrying the rifles from the now atomized aliens, the Colonel then turned to Major Carter and asked her to find a way to nullify the image formed by the devices.

"But.. but, sir" said the Major, "I have no idea where to start.. it could be anything from radioactive…"

"Ack" said the Colonel, "I trust you Carter, find a way…. And.. and make radioactive thingamabobs the last thing you try?"

"Understood, sir" said the Major.

"Tara" said the Colonel as he looked at the blonde, "you've done a lot to help us and.. well, I'm asking for your help again."

"O.. ok" said Tara nodding her head.

"I'm guessing that Hammond will be expecting me and Dr. Fraiser to meet him after all of this was done" said the Colonel, "so… you be Fraiser, and we'll go talk to the bald one."

"The bald one, sir?" asked Major Carter as she raised an eyebrow before handing the Colonel the device that contained the image of Dr. Fraiser to Colonel O'Neill. In return, Colonel O'Neill gave her the device containing the image of another personnel.

"It's not really him, Carter" said the Colonel as the Major shook her head, "get going, Carter… use that brain of yours to get out of another jam. We really need something, Tara may be right that everyone in the SGC has been body snatched… but there still may be a few who haven't been captured. We need to know who's who."

"Yes, sir" said the Major before she smiled at Tara as she ran out the door, and towards her lab. The closer she got to her lab, the more Airmen that the Major found walking by her. All of them never suspected that she was really human, not a single one of them, 'they can't tell the difference.'

The Major then headed into her lab with one of the devices that she put in her pocket and closed the door behind her. Inputting a code that secured the door, the Major went through her table while thinking of an idea. It was then that she looked up and saw a pair of speakers before a grin appeared on her face.

In the meantime, Colonel O'Neill and Tara, who was in the disguise of Dr. Fraiser were almost at General Hammond's officer. Tara could feel the radio that was in her pocket while in disguise, while a Zat lay in her other pocket as they walked towards the door. The Colonel had already told her that she could, if she wanted, leave the base while they took care of things.. that he'll give her a call once everything was safe.

"I.. I was scared" said Tara while they were grabbing the radios in the armoury earlier, "I.. I thought I was alone and.. I mean I did know who to call if something like this happened. I was going to call Major Daniels since he used to work here but it could have taken him longer to get here and.. and I'm not sure what else I could have done and… I knew you and the others would be coming by soon and…. yeah. But.. but now, I.. I'd like to stay and help."

"You sure?" asked the Colonel.

"Yes" said Tara as she nodded her head.

Now, almost at the door, the Colonel knocked before coming in to a smiling General Hammond who stood up from behind his desk.

"I see you have taken the form of the one known as O'Neill" said the General.

"Yes" said the Colonel.

"Good" said the General as he pointed to the man who was seated on the chair across from General Hammond's table, "and what of the others?"

"They are… around" said the Colonel.

"Very well" said General Hammond, "I'd like for you and Major Davis to…."

"Hey" said the Colonel as he looked at the disguised Tara, "are you sure about… you know.."

"Colonel" said General Hammond as he looked at the Colonel and then at the disguised Tara.

"Yes" said Tara.

"Good" said Colonel O'Neill as he quickly looked around and noticed that the briefing room was empty. He then grinned and turned to General Hammond before taking out his Zat and shooting the bald man, and Major Davis. He then shot them twice more until their bodies vanished.

"Jack, Tara" whispered Daniel's voice over the radio, "found them. Janet, the nurses, the Airmen from the infirmary, even the one that Tara killed… they're here and awake."

"As is Major Davis, and General Hammond" said Teal'c.

"Good" said the Colonel as he took the radio out of his pocket and looked around for anyone coming, "get them any weapons you can find. Tara and I will try and take the control room."

The Colonel then put the radio back into his pocket and turned to face the surprised Tara. He told her that the aliens seemed to have already gotten comfortable since they believed that they successfully invaded the SGC; he told her that there would always be at least two Airmen stationed in the briefing room.

"We'll scout the control room" said the Colonel, "and if we can… we'll take it over, and close the iris so that more can't come through. I know this is scary, and I know you only received a few months of training with the Zat. But… this is another chance to back out."

Tara shook her head no as a loud screech started to come through the speakers in the base.

"Sir! I did it! The images should be nullified now!" shouted the Major as the Colonel picked up the radio. While the Colonel was talking to the Major and then to Daniel and Teal'c, telling them to shoot the purple aliens on sight, Tara saw three Airmen coming up the stairs. However, this time the image of the Airmen flickered for a few seconds before vanishing entirely.

"Jack" shouted Tara as she and the Colonel ducked when the aliens used the rifles they were carrying to fire at them. The Colonel pushed Tara to one side before he rushed to the door and zatted the two airmen.

"You alright?" asked the Colonel as he ran back to Tara and helped her up while hearing the familiar sounds of the Stargate activating. Tara nodded her head before tell the Colonel that she was fine, that they needed to stop them from leaving since they had knowledge about the SGC.

"Shoot to kill" said the Colonel as Tara gave him a small nod. The Colonel led the blonde witch out of the General's office to the top of the metal stairs that led to the control room. They could hear the sounds of heavy boots on the level below as the Colonel heard a gasp behind him. Turning around he saw Tara preparing to shoot at one of the aliens who had ran down the hallway behind them. Tara shot the alien twice before the Colonel pushed her to the side wall, next to the door that led from the General's office directly into the briefing room. The Colonel looked at Tara before turning and firing into the hallway at two more aliens. Tara then saw an alien running up the stairs before it aimed it rifle. The blonde witch then fired twice at the alien, and then at more who were running up the stairs while Colonel O'Neill was firing at the ones running through the hallway that led to the briefing room.

"Carter.. anyone" shouted the Colonel into the radio, "they're trying to leave through the Stargate. Get someone to the control room and stop them, Tara and I are kinda occupied at the briefing room!"

"Yes, sir" shouted the Major while the Colonel heard weapons fire in the background, "we're on the way."

It had taken five minutes before the Control Room was under the control of the SGC personnel. The assault on the briefing room was soon joined by Teal'c, Daniel and Dr. Fraiser as they shot at the aliens who had taken cover in the supply rooms along the hallway. However, the shooting soon stopped after another screech went through the entire complex making the aliens use alternate means to head to the Stargate.

"The Stargate is shut down" shouted Major Carter from down in the control room.

It was a few seconds later that the aliens came out of hiding and stood in the hallway with their hands up in surrender after they dropped their weapons. However, the Colonel and the others heard a beeping sound from the devices on their chests as a red light started to blink.

"This is General Hammond, all SGC personnel take cover.. take cover.. take cover!"

"MOVE!" shouted the Colonel as he pushed Tara, Teal'c, Daniel and Dr,. Fraiser down the stairs into the control room as the blast door descended over the windows looking over the Stargate. Just as the blast doors were nearly shut, there was a blinding flash of light that had everyone in the room cover their eyes, followed by a thunderous explosion and trembles throughout the SGC.

Opening the blast doors again, Tara and the others looked on in shock at the blast damage in the Gate room.

"Ummm" said the Colonel as he deactivated the zat he was holding and shrugged, "I'm guessing a coat of paint? A few coats… you know… to cover the scorched up areas."

It was a couple of days after the foothold situation that General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c and Major Carter walked into Daniel's lab while he and Tara were discussing an artifact from a dig he had been on a few months ago, before Tara came to Colorado Springs. Once the four of them walked it, Tara gave them a small smile as Daniel walked over to the side of his workstation and stood next to Teal'c.

"Hi" said Tara with a small smile.

"Miss Maclay" said the General as Tara looked at them; her eyes widening in surprise when the General told her that he placed a letter of commendation in her SGC file. That if she hadn't done what she did in gathering information, and then passing it on to SG-1, then it would have been very possible that the SGC could have been taken over. He told her that it was most likely that their next target would have been the Pentagon, and then Willow while hitting the IPR at the same time, "you have done a very brave thing Miss Maclay."

All Tara could doo was look on speechless while nodding her head as the General smiled before walking out of the room.

"Tara?" asked Major Carter as the blonde just stood there surprised.

"I think we broke her" said the Colonel as he poked her arm.

"Tara Maclay" said Teal'c, "I believe this calls for a celebratory afternoon meal."

"Ye.. yes" said Tara as she looked at the Colonel, and the others.

"Come on then" said Daniel as he gently guided Tara out of the room, "to lunch."

"Lunch" said Colonel O'Neill.

"Indeed" replied Teal'c as he followed SG-1 out of the room.

TBC.

 


	55. Chapter 55

**The Summers Residence, two months later; 1530 hours.**

Faith knew that she had a chance at a decent life now more than ever before. Just getting out of the IPR after a training session with some of the military personnel, the dark haired Slayer received a call from Dawn asking her to come home as soon as possible. Never believing that she'd be adopted by a woman like Joyce, and have another Slayer as her step-sister.. coupled with a younger sister who also doubled as an inter-dimensional key; Faith felt as if she had everything.

'After my life, anything would be better' thought Faith to herself as she exited Lowell House, the base of operations for the IPR, she passed some of the new Potential Slayers who had been selected last month by herself, Buffy, Giles and Cordelia. It was a month ago that Faith was called to Cordelia's office where she met with Buffy, Giles, Cordelia and Major Daniels. Sitting down next to Buffy, Giles then handed everyone ten files while telling them that the Council had used one of the Covens to search for Potential Slayers, and the files in their hands contained information on ten of them, of which they would select five for the initial round of training. Opening the files, the group spent about two hours before they decided on the five potentials who would join the IPR.

As Faith walked past the potential as they were being led in some warm-ups with Major Daniels, she knew that since the potentials were still underage, they won't be seeing any action. The Potentials were enrolled into Sunnydale High, and would be attending training with Major Daniels after getting off from school. They were given rooms at Lowell House, as well as a curfew. Grinning at the potential Slayers, Faith then started off towards the Summers house.

Faith could only guess that there was one thing that would make Dawn that excited on the phone, and it was that thought that brought a small smile to her face. She had already completed her GED and was waiting for the official results.

'That's the only thing that can get that kid this excited' thought Faith to herself as she walked with a light breeze brushing through her hair. It had taken twenty minutes before Faith opened the door to the Summers home. Running up the stairs, she opened the door to her room and walked in. Closing the door behind her, the Slayer took off her clothes before wrapping a towel around herself and headed to the restroom to take a hot shower.

"Faith!" shouted Dawn as she got out of her room and pounded her fist on the door, "why didn't you tell me you got back? There's something for you downstairs, I was hoping we could check it out together.. you know?"

"Yea!" shouted Faith as she stood under the shower, "gimme ten."

"Right" said Dawn, "I'll be in the kitchen."

Faith then told Dawn that she'll meet her downstairs. Once it had gotten quiet, Faitg placed both of her hands on the wall and leaned in so that the water from the shower fell onto her head and ran down, and through, her hair while she kept her eyes shut. She knew that she was excited to find out her scores, and she could hear her own heart pounding in her chest. But at the same time, she knew that her pounding heart also meant that there was another pa of her that was terrified to go downstairs and open that letter.

'I don't want to disappoint Joyce' thought Faith to herself as she recalled everything that the older blonde had done for her.

Turning off the Shower, Faith grabbed her towel and wiped herself off before heading back out into her room. Changing into a T-Shirt and jeans, Faith then ran down the stairs and walked into the kitchen where Dawn was sitting at the island and looking at an envelope on the surface, before looking up at Faith and giving her a grin.

"So" said Dawn as she picked up the envelope and handed it to Faith, "come on, don't leave me all excited and stuff…. Open it."

"I don't know" said Faith as she put the enveloped back on the island and took a step back. She then walked over to the coffee machine and started to brew a fresh pot before she turned, leaning against the counter as she looked at Dawn while still unable to believe that the young woman was really something that could possibly end the world if in the wrong hands. Shaking her head of a vision of Dawn being pulled through a bright blue portal, and the world falling apart in the process; Faith told the brunette that she was afraid of what the results would say.

"Oh come on" said Dawn as she picked up the envelope, then got off her seat and walked over to Faith, "we've seen how excited you've been for this day, so… be a Slayer.. and open the damn thing."

"First" said Faith as she took the envelope from her adopted sister, "there is no connection between opening this envelope, and me being a Slayer. And secondly, don't say 'damn'."

"I won't if you open that" said Dawn as she pointed at the envelope.

"Maybe I should wait for Mrs. S" said Faith as she placed the envelope on the counter next to her.

"Or maybe you open it now" said Dawn as she grabbed the letter and then handed it back to Faith, "come on, Faith."

"You're not gonna stop are you?" said Faith as Dawn grinned while shaking her head no, "fine. But if I do real bad, then you're gonna have to comfort me by making some hot cocoa, deal?"

"Yea, yeah" said Dawn as she jumped up and down excitedly while pointing at the envelope, "open it! Open it! Open it!"

"Oh God" said Faith as she looked at the excited Dawn as she opened the envelope, "are you high?"

"No" said Dawn with a pout, just had a cup of coffee after school and…"

"Yeah" said Faith as she took out the results slip inside while looking at Dawn with an eyebrow raised, "no more coffee for you."

"Faith" whined Dawn as she pointed at the results slip, "what's it say?"

Rolling her eyes at the young girl, Faith opened the results slip and looked at the piece of paper in her hand.

Dawn noticed that once Faith looked at the slip, the smile that was on her face vanished.

"Faith?" asked Dawn worriedly.

Dawn saw Faith look up at her with her mouth wide open, before looking back down at the slip again. A few seconds later the Slayer looked back up with a trembling hand handing the slip over to Dawn before she leaned onto the counter behind her and looked at a confused Dawn.

"Holy crap" shouted Dawn as she looked at the slip, and then looked back up at Faith in surprise, "Faith! Oh my God! Faith!"

Dawn then rushed the dark haired Slayer and hugged her tightly while jumping up and down excitedly, "congratulations."

"I wasn't seeing things, was I?" asked a nervous faith as Dawn stepped back and showed Faith the slip, "I mean… this is…"

"You did it!" shouted Dawn as she hugged Faith again, "you did it, Faith. You're getting a diploma!"

As realization started to settle in, Faith had tears in her eyes as she returned Dawn's hug. She did much, much better than she thought possible on all sections of the GED. It wasn't too long before Faith joined Dawn in jumping around excitedly when it finally hit the dark haired like a ton of bricks; she passed high school. It was a few minutes later that the two of them separated as Dawn told Faith that she should tell Joyce, and the others.

Faith then nodded her head before running to the phone in the kitchen. It was when she started to dial that she stopped, and turned around to look at Dawn with her eyes narrowed.

"Don't tell anyone what just happened" said Faith, "no one ever knows about the jumping up and down, and the screaming, clear?"

"Keep the bad girl façade?" asked Dawn as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Faith.

"Uh huh" said the Slayer as Dawn nodded her head. Smiling as she turned around, Faith called up Joyce and Buffy and gave them the good news. She then called those who had helped tutor her, including Giles, as well Joyce, Anya and Angel. Although she was initially reluctant about getting help from a vampire, Giles convinced her that Angel would be good help in the social studies section of the test. After she had finished making all the calls she needed to make, even to Xander who hadn't been much help on the tutoring side but was actually giving her moral support, Faith leaned against the refrigerator and smiled at Dawn who hugged her again, before whispering congratulations into her ear.

Later that night, Faith called up Tara and told her about her results, and asked her not to tell Willow. That she'll come down to Colorado with Joyce, Dawn and Buffy later that weekend and tell Willow herself. Faith smiled on the phone as Tara told the Slayer how proud she was of her, and that once she talked to Willow, the redhead would say the same.

Faith smiled as she placed the phone back onto its cradle and walked back to the pizza party that Joyce and Dawn had planned.

Months had passed after Faith received her GED. The young woman had applied to U.C. Sunnydale for the Fall semester, the same time that Buffy would be heading off to the Academy. She had already received her acceptance letter, and the blonde Slayer knew that there was no turning back now. She was going to become an officer in the Air Force, and that made her heart beat faster every time she thought about it.

However, Buffy trusted that Faith would carry on the torch of Sunnydale's Slayer. The both of them were much closer than before, however there was still a competitive streak between them.. just like any normal siblings. Joyce still tended to her gallery, and Dawn would be Cordelia's and Giles' assistant at the IPR for a couple of hours after her school. In the meantime, the two Slayers had their own team that they would take out on patrol, while Xander and Anya worked together with their own team as well. It seemed as if everything had been going on great; they were battling threats nearly every day, however that wasn't new for the two Slayers, but now they had support from the military which made the battles being fought much more easier.

It was about two months before Buffy was due to report for in-processing at the Academy that Faith, together with the blonde Slayer, and Dawn were sitting on the living room couch as Joyce was modelling her latest dress for her three daughters. She had a date with a client she met at her art gallery, and she wanted to make a good first impression.

"You know" said Dawn as she passed a bowl of popcorn to Faith as she looked at Joyce in her dress, "I thought that you'd be going out with that O'Neill guy."

"Dawn" said Joyce as she looked at her youngest daughter with an eyebrow raised.

"What?" said the brunette as she shrugged her shoulders, "when he came to talk to Buffy, I saw you giving him the 'come have me now look'"

"Dawn" said Faith and Buffy together.

"Eww" said the blonde Slayer while Faith looked at Dawn, and then grinned at Joyce.

"So, Mrs. S?" asked Faith as she leaned back on the couch, "anything going on there? Is Dawn right?"

"Faith" said Buffy as she put her hands over her ear.

"B, how old are you? Like two?" said Faith as she looked at Buffy, and then leaned forward and waggled her eyebrows at Joyce, "so? Anything there?"

"So" said Joyce as she changed the subject quickly, "how about this dress?!"

That night, Joyce had returned home after her date with a wide smile on her face. She walked into the house only to find her three daughters sitting on the stairs grinning at her.

"Where is he?" said Buffy grinning as she placed her chin in the palm of her hand and grinned, "shouldn't he be walking you over to the door?"

"So ungentlemaly" said Dawn as she shook her head.

"At least he should have kissed you goodbye, ya know?" said Faith as she leaned back on her elbows, "I mean, come on."

"True, mom" said Buffy as Dawn laughed.

"So how was it, mom?" asked Dawn, "dinner and dancing?"

"It was nice" said Joyce as she leaned on the front door with a wide grin on her face. Then suddenly, her grin vanished and she grabbed her chest.

"Mom?" said Buffy, "you alright?"

"Oh no" said a worried Joyce as she turned around and looked at the door, and then turned around again and looked at her daughters, "my…. I must have… oh boy…"

"Mom?" asked Dawn with concern on her face, "what is it? What's wrong?"

"I… I think I left my bra in his car" said Joyce as a grin suddenly appeared on her face as looks of shock appeared on the faces of Buffy and Dawn while Faith could only give a grin, and a thumbs up to the older blonde.

"Mom!" said both Dawn and Buffy as Faith laughed.

"Congrats, Mrs. S" said Faith.

"Faith" exclaimed both of Dawn and Buffy as she looked at Faith.

"No.. no…" said Joyce shaking her head as she walked towards them with a sigh of relief, "it's not in the car."

"Don't scare us like that" sighed Buffy as she looked at Joyce.

"Yeah, that's.. that's almost like.. yeah… traumatic.. you know" said Dawn relieved.

"Sorry" said Joyce with a grin as she leaned on the banister and looked at her daughters, "I didn't leave it in the car, I stuffed it in his pocket."

"Mom!" said Buffy and Dawn as they plugged their ears with their fingers while Faith couldn't do anything but laugh at the reaction of her two sisters.

The next day, Faith had the day off from training so she slept until late in the day. Waking up, she sat up on her bed slowly as she looked at the bedside clock.

'Three in the afternoon' thought Faith to herself, 'damn, how late did I sleep last night?'

Getting off the bed in a tanktop and shorts, Faith yawned as she walked out of the door and walked past the staircase on her way to the restroom. She knew that As she reached the stairs, Faith noticed a colourful arrangement of flowers from the corner of her eye at the bottom f the stairs, on top of a table next to the front door. Smiling as she headed to the restroom to freshen up for a few minutes, Faith walked out and down the stairs.

"Mrs. S" said Faith as she walked down the stairs, "you made a real impression on the guy and…."

As Faith reached the bottom of the stairs, her eyes were looking at the colourful arrangement when she noticed something else from the corner of her eye. To the young woman, it seemed as time had stopped as she turned around slowly and walked into the living room. She placed her trembling left hand on the wall that separated the living room and the foyer as she eyes now focused on one thing, and one thing only. The pale body of Joyce Summers that lay on the couch.

"Mrs. S?" whispered Faith as she took a few steps towards the couch on her trembling legs, "Mrs. S?"

Faith walked up to Joyce's body with tears welling in her eyes as she looked at the blank stare that the older blonde returned to her.

"Mrs. S?" asked Faith again as her heart raced inside her chest, "mom?"

TBC.

 


	56. Chapter 56

**Willow's Dorm Room, Air Force Academy, 1600 hours.**

Willow couldn't believe it, she was nearly done with the first year of her stay at the Academy and so far she was at the top of her class. Grinning as she tapped her forehead with her pencil while researching for a project that she, Colleen and a few others were involved in; the redhead couldn't help but be excited at the year so far, and not just for herself.

Willow recalled Buffy, Joyce, Dawn and Faith visited her a few months ago and was excited to learn that Faith had pretty much aced the GED. She remembered the tight hug that she gave the dark haired Slayer before whispering congratulations into her ear. Willow remembered the days she spent with Joyce, and the others back in Sunnydale for Thanksgiving; her extended family all being together under one roof, and having the freedom to be with Tara without any of the military personnel noticing. Finally, Willow was excited that Buffy was joining the Academy in a few months. The redhead had given the blonde Slayer tips on what to expect during the Basic Training; but despite everything, Willow knew that Buffy would be able to take it.

Back in her room, Willow was pulled out of her daydreaming by her door opening, and then closing as Colleen walked in. She had to rent out some books from the library, one of which she handed to Willow before taking a seat next to the redhead.

"Sarah and Danielle are almost done with their parts" said Colleen as Willow typed furiously on her laptop while Colleen opened hers, "think we can get ours done by tonight?"

"Uh huh" said Willow when suddenly the phone on her desk started to ring. Leaning forward to pick up the phone, she placed it onto her ear and spoke, "Cadet Rosenberg."

Colleen had opened one of the books when she heard a loud gasp coming from her left. Looking at Willow, she saw the redhead trembling as she spoke on the phone with her voice on the verge of breaking.

"Willow?" said Colleen as the redhead brought her hands over her eyes and gave out a sound of a soft sob. Colleen, concerned for her roommate, stood up from her chair and walked towards Willow before putting her hands on the redhead's trembling shoulders.

It was a few minutes later that Willow put the phone back into it's cradle and completely broke down. Unsure about what just happened, Colleen just squeezed the redhead's shoulder gently before taking a seat right next to her. After a few minutes of crying, Willow gained some control as she struggled to tell Colleen that Faith called to tell her that Joyce had died.

Colleen remembered that Willow had always said that Joyce was more of a mother to her than her own mother. That she loved her like she was her own daughter, but now she was gone.

"She's gone" whimpered Willow as she looked at her own hands. Willow felt Colleen squeeze her arm for comfort, and at the same time she remembered her alternate's warning to the older blonde, the warning that Joyce told her after she was gone; that her alternate had died from an aneurysm; and that they had to do everything they could to prevent it. Willow knew that they did; she would accompany Joyce for her scans at the hospital, and was glad every time when the scans showed up clean. Then came the tumour later on, which was a surprise for everyone, and Willow was relieved that the doctors were able to take it out.

'That was supposed to be the end of it' thought Willow to herself as she wiped her eyes whil Colleen held on to her gently, 'that was supposed to be it. She wasn't supposed to die.'

Faith told her that Joyce's body was at the hospital, and that the doctors were conducting an autopsy on her. Willow knew that the dark haired Slayer was trying to remain tough, but she could hear in Faith's voice that she was struggling. She then talked to Buffy and Dawn, before putting the phone down.

**Summers Residence, few days later; 1300 hours.**

Joyce's funeral was held a few days later, and Willow managed to get leave from the Academy for a couple of days. She arrived in Sunnydale with an equally upset Tara from Colorado Springs the day before the funeral. The couple walked quietly through the Sunnydale Airport where they were picked up by Giles. Giving the man a hug, Willow started to cry again as Tara just quietly held on to her girlfriend. Soon, they were in Giles' car as he drove in silence towards Buffy's home.

Willow was the first one through the door as she rushed towards Buffy who was in the foyer, and gave her a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry, Buffy" said Willow as she listened to Buffy's sobs while looking at Dawn who was seated on the stairs and leaning her shoulder on the banister. Willow reached out her hand towards Dawn who wiped her eyes before she got up and walked towards Willow and Buffy. The redhead pulled the brunette into her hug with Buffy as the three of them just stood in the foyer. It was about a minute later that Buffy stepped back from Willow, wiped her eyes and then thanked her best friend for coming. The blonde Slayer then went on to hug Tara tightly, while thanking her for coming as well.

"Of course, sweetie" said Tara as she held on tightly to Buffy.

While hugging Dawn, Willow saw through her tear stained eyes that Cordelia, Xander and Anya were seated together on the couch as they just looked off into the distance; followed by five girls that she hadn't met before who were standing in one corner of the living room.

'Must be the Potentials' thought Willow to herself, 'Buffy told me that Joyce was the official Slayer mom; their mother while they were away from their own families.'

Willow looked around and noticed that there was one glaring omission from the people around her.

"Where's Faith?" asked Willow as she looked at Buffy while Dawn went on to hug Tara.

"She's in the backyard" said Buffy as Willow nodded her head. They made their way to the backyard where Faith was seated on the stairs while she looked out into the backyard as a breeze ran through her hair. Upon hearing the backdoor opening, Faith turned around and stood up when she saw Tara and Willow. She then walked over to them and hugged them tight.

The rest of the day was spent either in quiet reflection or sharing funny stories about Joyce. They talked about the Band Candy incident where Joyce and Giles acted like teenagers, Buffy's creative excuses before Joyce knew that she was a Slayer, the Potentials talked about how she was like a mother to them and was easy to talk to with problems that they couldn't even tell their counsellors about.

"I miss her pie" said one of the Potentials who was called Violet, "the one with the burnt edges she made for Christmas."

"She'd always say that the burnt edges, and a slightly burnt middle, was good for a pie" said Dawn as she leaned on Buffy's shoulder as they all sat in the living room.

"I can make it" said Faith softly as everyone looked at her, while Faith just looked at the glass of pop in her hand. She then looked up at the others and told them that she asked Joyce to show her how to make some of her desserts, "I was bored you know. After training, studying for the GED and Slaying…. There was nothing much to do so I asked Joy…. Mom if she could teach me how to… you know.. bake."

"And without burning the house down, right?" asked Willow as Faith gave a small smile.

"That's what she said" said Faith as she leaned back and laughed, "but she told me she'll teach me, and then when B graduates from the Academy… she'll teach her."

"Hey" said Buffy, "why didn't she offer to teach me before the Academy."

"She knew you'd forget" laughed Faith.

"She's right" said Dawn as she cried while wiping tears off her face, "you nearly burned down the house in L.A when you tried to bake cookies… and that was with mom helping you."

"Ha.. ha" said Buffy as Willow and Tara giggled while Xander and Anya smiled.

"She was a great woman" said Xander.

"The funniest part was when she hit on Xander during the whole love spell fiasco" said Cordelia as everyone laughed while Xander blushed and Anya looked around confused, 'and I was right there."

"Don't remind me" said Xander before he turned and told Anya that he'll explain what happened later on. He then gently held on to Anya's hand as the young woman just sat quietly and listened to the stories of Joyce. Xander knew that despite Anya's age, the former vengeance demon was still new to the human world and that she was having trouble expression her emotions… especially at a time like this. So, not to say something wrong… she told Xander that she wouldn't say anything in case she hurt Buffy, Dawn, or Faith. Xander told Anya that it was alright, that the girls would understand if she said something that she perceived to be wrong… he told her that it was the thought that counted; but Anya still refused, privately telling Xander that she didn't know what to say. That she didn't know how to deal with death, and that she had no idea what she could say that would make anything better. So Anya just sat there silently, watching everyone talk about their experiences with Joyce. All the while, tightening her hold on Xander's hand as she recalled privately on her memories of Joyce welcoming her into the house whenever they had dinner together.

"She'll be proud of you, B" said Faith as she looked at the blonde Slayer, "graduating from the Academy, I mean. She'll be proud of you."

"She'll be proud of you too" said Buffy, "you start U. C. Sunnydale the same time I start the Academy, so she'll be proud of us. And Dawn, and Willow, and Tara."

"When I was in the coma" said Faith as she took a sip from her glass, "I heard mom's voice while she was talking to me. It was weird, my dreams changed every time she talked to me. This one dream I remember well… it was so vivid that it was scary. I was in a room, like the one I have right now. I walked towards the desk and I pick up a picture what has me and Dawn standing in between Willow and Buffy in their Air Force Uniforms… I think it was during graduation. And then, then there was another one where I graduated from college, and mom was there…. I was.. I was looking at something or someone nervously while mom was holding onto me. I know it's not real… but that's the memory I'll hold on to."

Buffy squeezed Faith's hand before telling everyone the memory of Joyce that she'll cherish the most, followed by Dawn, Willow, Cordelia and Xander. Even Giles had a say about his fondest memory.

It was the following day that the Scoobies gathered to bury Joyce's body. It was a small family affair with Faith and the Summers sisters, the Scoobies, Hank Summers and other relatives in attendance. The service was beautiful as all the Scoobies spoke about the impact that Joyce had in their lives, and that she'd want them to continue living.. and laughing.

However, it was a few days after the funeral that an Asgard vessel came out of a hyperspace window over Earth, scanned the planet, and then immediately left once again with no-one any the wiser.

**The Olive Branch, Sunnydale, 2100 hours; one week earlier.**

Joyce was happy. She had three wonderful daughters at home waiting for her, one of whole was the baby of the family.. and the two who were tough enough to look after themselves, and the babysit the third daughter. That left Joyce with no worries in her head as she talked to her date who was sitting across from her. She told the man, Dave, that she was a divorced mother with three daughters. She knew that it was a risk telling him about Buffy, Dawn and Faith, but was surprised when he told her that he was divorced for two years; and that one day he'd love to meet Joyce's daughters.

It was nearly time for their dessert as Dave held on to Joyce's hand while they continued to talk amid the buzz in the restaurant. She soon smiled and gently pulled her hand back before excusing herself and telling him that she'll be right back.

"I'll be waiting" said Dave as Joyce smiled at the man again before heading to the washroom.

Immediately heading for the mirror, she just looked at her reflection and smiled.

'You can do this, Joyce' she thought to herself, 'your first date in what? Three years? The guy seems nice, he's not like Jack.. or Rupert.. but he's nice. Wait, does being drugged by chocolate and having sex with Rupert count as a date? Stop over thinking it! Come on, Summers. He seems like a nice guy and….'

Joyce soon heard a buzzing sound around her as she stepped back and looked around. The next thing she knew, she was covered in a white light.

**Orbit of Edina, One week later..**

The last thing that Joyce remembered was a bright flash of light that enveloped her, and then she found herself waking up inside what seemed like a glass tube. She looked around before she pushed against the glass before she heard a beeping sound, followed by a click. Joyce looked on as the glass door opened before she stepped out onto a grey coloured metallic floor.

"Dear God" said Joyce in shock as she exited the tube and found herself in a large room with plenty of consoles which symbols she recognized as norse runes, but she had no idea what it said. Looking around more, she saw a large window on one side of the room that looked out into space.

"No, no" said Joyce as she ran to the window and looked out at a planet below, 'that… that's not Earth."

Terrified about what was going on, Joyce turned around when she heard the hiss of a door opening and gasped when she saw what could be described as one of the Roswell greys that she had heard conspiracy theorists talking about on shows in the History Channel. Her hands over her mouth, Joyce stepped back when the alien walked towards her and stopped a few steps away with its hands raised.

"Greetings, I am Loki of the Asgard."

"I…. I… I'm Joyce Summers" said Joyce as she looked back at the planet behind her, and then at the alien who called itself Loki, "As… Asgard?"

"That is my people's race" said Loki, "just as you are Human."

"Where.. where am I?" asked Joyce, "why…."

"I beamed you aboard my ship seven of your days ago" said Loki as he turned and motioned for Joyce to follow him. He walked to a console which brought up a screen, as well as a scan of her body, "my people are a dying race. We have been searching for a cure to our genetic degradation, and to that end.. I have been conducting experiments on humans from your planet as they resembling our biology thousands of years ago."

'Ex.. experiments?" asked Joyce as she pointed at Loki with trembling hands, "your people…"

"My people do not know" said Loki as he turned and looked at Joyce, "they do not have the will to do what needs to be done for the sake of our race. I beamed you up on my ship, and replaced you with a clone that carried all of your memories and left your solar system. When I returned to switch your body with that of the clone, I discovered that it had died."

"No… no…" said Joyce as she turned at the window and looked out into space, and then turned at Loki again, her heart pounding in her chest, "take me home. I have daughters who…"

"I cannot" said Loki as Joyce's face twisted in anguish, "the clone has lost all life signs. I know that your people have elaborate ceremonies to bid their goodbyes. If I send you back, then…"

"Please" said Joyce, "send me to the SGC, I can tell them that you didn't mean anything and…"

"You know of the SGC?" asked Loki.

"Yes" said Joyce, "please, I'm sure that…"

"I am sorry" said Loki, "if I do what you ask, the SGC will contact my people and they will stop me. I cannot let that happen. The survival of my race is paramount."

"Please" said Joyce as tears welled in her eyes as she slowly realized what was happening.

"As a measure of goodwill" said Loki as he pointed toward the scan of Joyce's body, "I have healed your body. There were small growths behind your lungs and breasts that have been eradicated, and I have taken the liberty of altering your genetic code so that those growths do not occur again. In addition, I have de-aged your body by ten of your years; and I have brought you to a planet that is free of the Goa'uld. The people here will welcome you.. and I am hopeful that you will make a new life for yourself."

"No, please" said Joyce, "my daughters. I can't.. no.."

"Goodbye" said Loki as Joyce vanished in a flash of bright white light, "I am sorry."

Before Joyce could finish what she was going to say, there was a bright flash of light, and she found herself surrounded by trees and looking up at a Stargate. Shaking her head as she stepped back, the gravity of her situation suddenly hitting her as she brought her hands to her mouth in shock and let out a sob.

'I.. I'm on another planet… I'm on.. oh God.'

She didn't know how long she stood just staring in shock at the Stargate, but she heard a sound behind her of someone stepping through the trees, Joyce turned around and saw a man who appeared to be in his mid-forties, brown hair and tanned clothes who just stood at the edge of a line of trees and stared back at Joyce. She saw that his mouth was open wide, and Joyce couldn't tell if it was because of the way she was dressed, or because she was standing there in front of the Stargate.

"Greetings" said the man as he walked towards Joyce who took a step back, "do not be afraid, my name is Jayden. I am from the nearby village, are you from another village? I have not seen you before."

"Where.. where am I?" asked Joyce as she kept her distance.

"You have lost your memory?" asked Jayden as he kept his distance too as he could see the woman standing in front of him trembling in fear, "I will not harm you."

"Where.. where am I?" asked Joyce as she leaned back into the DHD, turned around and then kept the device between her and Jaden, "please, just tell me what planet this is?"

"Your memory loss must be great" said Jayden, "you are on Edina."

"Edina" said Joyce with her eyes wide open as she recalled what the alternate Willow who appeared in her living room had said. That when the time comes, they need to dial the address for Edina, 'no… I… I… oh God, we thought that Edina was a planet that we could send Glory to. But that was scrapped and… oh God… I'm dead on Earth…. Loki implied that they buried me. There.. there's no one looking for me…'

Joyce looked down at the DHD and remembered the day of their first briefing at the SGC, the day that she first saw the Stargate for the first time. Daniel told her that with an address of seven symbols, they could go anywhere in the galaxy. He told the group that each planet had their own specific address in space, even Earth. Joyce recalled asking him if the Stargate was protected, if it was possible for aliens to come through by surprise.

"No" said Colonel O'Neill all those months ago, "the iris prevents anyone from zipping through if they don't have a code. If they don't have the code, then it's kinda of like bugs hitting a windscreen."

"Jack" said Daniel rolling his eyes as Joyce watched Willow put her hand through the event horizon, while looking at the pure excitement on the redhead's face.

But now, as Joyce looked at the DHD, she realized that she couldn't do anything. She didn't know Earth's address, nor did she know the code to open the iris. She couldn't go anywhere else in case there were Goa'uld around. She was trapped, possibly for good. She knew that there was a chance that an SG team could come through the gate.. but with General Hammond having told her back at the SGC that there are thousands of Stargates out in the galaxy, hitting Edina would be an extremely lucky shot.

With no other way out, Joyce crumbled onto her knees and started to sob as Jayden took a few steps forward.

"Miss" said Jayden gently, "my village is just down the road. Come and you can rest while we send a messenger to your village."

"I'm not from here" said Joyce as she looked up at Jayden, "I'm from another world, from Earth. And I don't have a way home… I don't have a way to see my daughters again."

"Come with me" said Jayden still believeing that the woman who was now sobbing uncontrolabbly was probably delirious since she lost her memories, "come to my home, I will send a messenger to this village, Earth."

Joyce slowly got up as Jayden helped her to stand up, and then held onto her before leading her down the trail and to his village. For the first six months on Edina, Joyce suffered from a bout of depression as she constantly thought about Buffy, Dawn, and Faith. Deep down she knew that she was dead on Earth and that there was no way for anyone to know what really happened, but she'd still think about them… and hope against hope that the Stargate would activate, and a SG team would walk through. But it never happened.

Her depression was exaberated by the fact that she wasn't there to see Willow go into her second year at the Academy, she wasn't there to see off Buffy when she enetered the Academy, she wasn't thereto see off Faith as she enrolled into U. C. Sunnydale, she wasn't there to see Dawn go up a grade in her school. The fact that she was proud of all of them worsened her depression. She was worried about Dawn, since Buffy was at the Academy, who would look after her and feed her.

'There's Giles, Cordelia' thought Joyce to herself, 'but… even Hank could… would he?'

Those thoughts continued to feed her depression as she slowly came to realize that there was nothing she could do. Her only hope was that Colonel O'Neill, or the SGC, could work some paperwork magic and keep Dawn in Sunnydale under Giles' guardianship.

'They're her family' thought Joyce as she wiped her eyes, 'I know Hank is busy.. to busy… so I hope that Giles is the one who watches over both Faith, and Dawn. My daughters.'

Eventually, Jayden believed her when she said that she was from another world, and he had been by her side the entire time she was depressed. He'd ask her to talk to him about Buffy, Dawn, and Faith; and she would do that, every single day. She would even stand at the Stargate, while Jayden worked in the nearby fields, waiting for activation for hours before she would go back to Jayden's home.

After spending a year on Edina, Joyce gave in to the fact that she was stuck on the planet. Jayden told her one day that he was sorry that Joyce couldn't see her daughters again, but they were still with her in her thoughts, and in her heart.

"You must keep them in your heart" said Jayden as he sat down next to her on a bed he made for her, "perhaps one day you may return to your world, and I hope that I am able to meet your daughters. In the meantime, you have to live in the here and now. You can make a life here, a new beginning for yourself; just do not forget your daughters, and they will not forget about you."

Joyce could only nod her head as she looked at Jayden. She closed her eyes as the man kissed her check before getting up from the bed and heading out of the room, closing the door behind him and walking into his own room. Joyce could only sit on the bed and look out the window at the two moons of Edina before she lay down on the bed, and closed her eyes.

Joyce's second year on Edina was different, she started to participate in the village more often, even going out with Jayden to the fields to pick a crop that she said looked, and tasted, like barley. Jayden told her that he'd take this 'barley' and make it into bread which he'd then sell to the other nearby villages. In this simple life, Joyce would still remember her children and the Scoobies and missed them terribly.

To what was Joyce's second year on Edina, it was Willow's third year at the Air Force Academy. The redhead had one more year before graduation when she, Buffy and Tara faced another heartbreak. Tara, Willow and Buffy stood with SG-1 in the SGC's Isolation Room One while watching Daniel die from radiation poisoning. Her absence made Tara, Buffy, Willow lean on each other more as they watched Daniel die in front of them; Tara being the hardest hit as she looked at Willow who had tears in her eyes. The redhead looked back at Tara as she shook her head while the blonde haired witch rolled her hands into fists so tight that her knuckles had gone white, she knew that she could save the man; but what Willow's alternate said about needing to have Daniel die was hard on her. It was few seconds into General Carter using the Goa'uld hand device to save Daniel, that Tara saw Willow just look off into the distance for a few seconds before she blinked her eyes. It was at that same time that Colonel O'Neill asked General Carter to stop what he was doing. With everyone, including Tara, looking at the man in surprise, she then heard Willow telling them that it was he asked for.

"Will?" asked Buffy as she looked at her best friend.

"We… we talked to him" said Willow as she looked at Buffy, and then at Tara, "it's what he wants."

Tara could see in Willow's eyes that she wasn't joking, that the both of them really did speak to Daniel. But even so, the witch felt trapped.. unable to do anything because of a promise she made. It was a few seconds after the General stopped using the healing device that Daniel breathed his last, and then started to glow.

"I… I've seen this" said Buffy as Daniel transformed into fluctuating, pulsing light, "the.. the monk… the monk of Dagon. This is what happened."

Even Tara watched in surprise as the light started to go up into the air before it vanished. She then looked back at an upset Willow, and gave her a small smile. Tara just hoped that what just happened, was worth it in the long run.. or else she would never be able to forgive herself.

It was a few nights later when Major Carter invited Willow, and Buffy to go out for dinner with Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c and Tara, that the blonde witch felt a breeze as she headed to the Colonel's car which was parked outside Dr. Fraiser's home. Stopping in her tracks, she felt the breeze running through her hair when it suddenly stopped. Feeling a presence behind her, Tara turned around and saw Daniel in a cream coloured sweater standing at the front door waving at her. She gave him a small wave before turning around with a smile on her face, sure in the knowledge that he really was going to be alright.

Back on Edina, Joyce's second year ended with the Stargate still not having been activated and with her getting married to the man who helped her pick herself up again. During their vows in the middle of the village square, she told Jayden that she wished her daughters were present to see how happy she was. Jayden smiled and nodded his head before the both of them kissed.

Joyce's third year on Edina gave her a son who she named Jay. As she looked into her son's eyes, she imagined how Buffy, Dawn and Faith would react at having a baby brother.

'They'll spoil you' thought Joyce to herself as she looked up at Jayden who kissed her sweaty forehead before wrapping his arm around her shoulder and then looking down at the yawning baby, 'they'll spoil you rotten.'

The blonde would still look out towards the Stargate at times, but now she had two more people who loved her on Edina. She made a final decision that she had to look out for her husband and her son now. That night, she looked up at the Stargate and smiled for the final time before she walked back to the village with her sleeping son in her arms.

However, she knew that her third year on Edina was the year that Willow would be graduating from the Academy. She didn't know if her parents were going to be there, but she knew that Faith and the others would be. After putting Jay to bed, she stepped outside and looked at the star filled sky and made a wish – a wish that Willow would be safe as she started her journey through the Stargate. She also knew that next year, Buffy would be graduating from the Academy and that she regretted not being able to go to either graduation ceremony, nor to Faith's graduation ceremony.

Joyce didn't know, but it would be the third year of her stay on Edina, a month after Willow's graduation that the Stargate would finally activate on the planet.

TBC.

 


	57. Chapter 57

**Creek Apartments, Colorado Springs, 1300 hours.**

It was about a month before Willow's graduation that Tara stood in the middle of a carpeted living room to a two bedroom apartment which she was going to be sharing with Willow. Breathing hard with her hands on her hips after moving some boxes that contained her items, as well as Willow's belongings that had been brought over from Sunnydale. She looked at the boxes of all the things she collected since moving to Colorado Springs. She had been lifting some boxes up the stairs to their second floor apartment with the help of Dr. Fraiser, Cassie, and the rest of SG-1. Moving to one side as Teal'c walked into the apartment with another box, the blonde witch asked him to take it to the bedroom on the left. Teal' then nodded his head before taking it to the bedroom that she would be sharing with Willow.

Tara decided to move out of Dr. Fraiser's home a few months before Willow was supposed to graduate from the Academy. She and Dr. Fraiser spent hours searching for some two bedroom apartments instead of going for just the one bedroom ones. Dr. Fraiser told her that, until Tara and Willow told the others about their relationship, it would be better to at least keep the appearance of being roommates. And in the event that they did tell Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter about their relationship, then the extra room can be used for Buffy to move in to.

"So Sam and Jack have no clue?" asked Tara as she and the doctor were sitting at the dining room table looking at apartment listings.

"They have no idea" said Dr. Fraiser laughing as she leaned back on her seat, "even when the both of you went on that research trip accompanied by Colonel O'Neill and Jonas, he still didn't know. And I heard that you and Willow, were just looking at each other when you thought no-one was looking."

"Hold on a second" said Tara surprised, "how did you know?"

"A little birdie told me" said the doctor with a grin.

"Jonas?"

"Jonas" said Dr. Fraiser nodding her head as Tara giggled, "he saw you two…. He called it ghost-flirting… you know… glancing at each other and…. yeah… I have no idea where he gets all this from."

"I think from all those romantic movies you ask him to watch" grinned Tara as the doctor started to cough hard. It took a few seconds for her to calm down; in the meantime Tara couldn't help but laugh, "and here I was thinking you preferred Daniel."

"It's not my fault that he wants to know the intricacies of the mating rituals of Earth" said Dr. Fraiser as Tara smirked while nodding her head, "and he's a friend, just like Daniel was my friend."

"Uh huh" said Tara as the doctor just narrowed her eyes at the blonde, "maybe one day I can babysit Cassie while you watch a movie with him... Sleepless in Seattle, maybe? Or When Harry met Sally?"

Tara giggled as Dr. Fraiser started to cough nervously again.

Back in the new apartment, Tara smiled as she looked around while Cassie came in with another small box that she lay in one corner of the living room. The younger redhead then walked up to Tara and stood next to her while admiring the apartment.

"So" said Cassie looking up at Tara, "you will be visiting us, right?"

"Of course, sweetie" said Tara as she placed an arm around the young girl's shoulders.

Once all the boxes had been moved, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c had taken the former's truck and headed to get the furniture that both Willow, and Tara, had placed on order for the apartment. In the meantime, Tara, Cassie, Daniel, Major Carter and Dr. Fraiser just sat around the living room taking a break from the moving while waiting for Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c. It wasn't too long before they returned and, after a few trips to and from the shop using the Colonel's truck, finished furnishing the apartment; after which Tara treated everyone to some burgers, fries and shakes.

It was a month after the move to the new apartment that Tara stood with Colonel O'Neill, Dawn, Faith, Giles and the others as they watched Willow graduate from the Academy. It was the Colonel, standing next to Major Carter, who handed Tara a pair of binoculars and pointed to the general area where Willow was sitting down. She looked at her girlfriend who was talking to the young man next to her and laughing, while Tara could only smile at how proud she was of the redhead. However, she was upset at the same time since Joyce was unable to see this special day. Tara knew that Willow's parents were unable to come, at least that was the text Willow received when she met with them before the ceremony… that her parents had to travel to Switzerland for a conference in which they were the keynote speakers in each of their respective fields.

It was soon after the graduation ended that Tara and the others headed towards the place they agreed to meet with Willow. It was there that she ran up and gave Tara a tight hug before pulling back slowly and looking into the blonde's eyes while giving her a wide smile. Willow then laughed and gave hugs to Dawn, Xander, Anya, a very proud Teal'c, Jonas Quinn, and the others. She saved the tightest hugs for Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter and Giles who told the redhead that he was very proud of her. Willow then saw Buffy standing next to Giles. The blonde Slayer gave Willow a salute before the two best friends laughed and hugged each other.

"Congrats Red" said Faith as she came up and hugged Willow after Buffy pulled away.

Willow returned Faith's hug as she recalled what the dark haired Slayer did so that Dawn would have a home to stay. The redhead recalled a few weeks after returning to the Academy from Joyce's funeral, that Tara told her Faith wanted to be emancipated so that Dawn could be placed into her custody. She said that Buffy and Faith discussed it among themselves, and then with Hank Summers, Cordelia, and Giles. Hank was candid in saying that he loved Buffy and Dawn, that there was no question about that. He also told Faith that Joyce told him that she would be adopting the dark haired Slayer, and that he had agreed. Faith nodded her head as Hank continued by saying that he'd love for Dawn to move to Santa Barbara to live in his home there, but with the hours that he puts into his work… it was going to be difficult to spend any significant time with her.

"And she has her life here" said Hank, "her friends, her school. Don't get me wrong, she'll eventually have all those things in Santa Barbara too, but without me being there.. I'm afraid she'll be spending most of her time alone at home. I mean I'd probably be able to see her before she goes to sleep, and see her off to school… but the rest of the day?"

"She'll be alone" said Cordelia as Hank nodded his head.

It was then that Faith put her hand up and told the group her idea.

Faith told Hank that since Joyce already adopted her, she'll apply for emancipation and then seek custody of Dawn. She told them that she already has a steady job with the IPR, she's going to university, and that she and Dawn already have a built-in support network in Sunnydale.

"I can make the argument that it's in Dawn's best interest that she stays in Sunnydale with Faith" said Hank as he nodded his head, "but I'm not trying to… look, I know that Joyce and I didn't end on the best of terms but I still love my children. And… and I'm thinking what's best for Dawn. Like I said, if she stays in Santa Barbara, she'll be alone for most of the time even if she's in my custody and.. and I don't want something like that to happen to her."

"I think Joyce would understand that" said Giles as he nodded his head before looking at Faith, "are you certain of this, Faith?"

"Never been more sure of anything in my life" said the dark Slayer as she nodded her head at Giles, and then at Buffy who held Faith's hand and squeezed.

"But" said Hank as he leaned forward, "I know I'm not always there, but whenever I can… I'd still like to visit you guys."

Buffy could only smile before she nodded her head.

It was a few months after Buffy's in-processing at the Academy that Faith was emancipated and given full custody of Dawn. The day that Faith arrived at the Academy to visit both Buffy and Willow with Dawn was a happy day as Buffy hugged her sister Slayer on gaining full custody of the younger girl.

In the present day, Willow continued to hug Faith tightly. The redhead whispered in her ear that she was sorry for the way she treated Faith when they were younger, and that she hoped Faith could forgive her one day.

"Don't think about it, Red" whispered Faith into Willow's ear, "well, if you absolutely want to show me how sorry you are then…"

"No" said Willow as she looked at Faith and smiled.

"What?"

"I know what you were going to ask."

"Come on, there was a you and me that came through to this reality.. I'm curious that's all."

"Uh huh" said the redhead as she put an arm around Faith's shoulder and walked to where Tara was talking to Buffy, Colonel O'Neill and Giles, "really, Faith. I'm sorry about everything I did."

"Apology accepted" said Faith as she patted Willow's back.

It was about four hours later after a late lunch at O'Malley's that the Scoobies returned to Tara and Willow's apartment for continued celebrations while Colonel O'Neill told Willow, and Buffy, to enjoy their time. He told Buffy to enjoy herself over her break, and reminded Willow that she was supposed to be reporting to the SGC in a few weeks. Before leaving, Major Carter approached Willow to tell her that the redhead officially won their bet; that after their next mission, she'll treat the redhead to a good old steak.

Laughing, Willow then hugged the Major once again before she, along with the rest of SG-1, Cassie and Dr. Fraiser left. Buffy returned to the dorms that day, while Giles and the others headed back to their hotel before leaving together a few days later. Buffy was using her three weeks of leave to stay in Sunnydale before she had to attend a training program at the Alpha Site over the summer along with her present roommate, Jennifer Hailey.

Once everyone left the apartment, Tara closed the door behind her as Willow threw away some of the empty cans of pop that lay on the carpet. Walking out of the kitchen, Willow saw Tara leaning on the door and smirking at her. Smiling as she looked at the blonde witch, Willow saw Tara walking over to the blinds that covered the glass doors leading to the outside balcony; and then pull on a chord to close the blinds. Once the blinds were shut, Willow checked to make sure the door was locked while staring at Tara who walked towards her with a seductive look on her face as she slowly took off her jeans and shirt.

Reaching Willow, Tara gently pushed the smiling girl against the door and looked at the locks before looking at Willow again. Leaning in, the blonde kissed the redhead as the both of them felt a spark going through their bodies. It wasn't too long before Tara stepped back and frantically helped Willow take off her clothes, throwing them onto the carpet. Willow then grabbed Tara by the shoulders and spun her around before pushing her against the door. Willow then leaned in and kissed her while one hand went behind the blonde witch's back. Breaking off the kiss, the redhead looked into Tara's eyes and smiled at the confidence that she found there. Willow remembered how nervous Tara used to be with her, and she'd seen Tara's confidence grow each time she went through the Stargate on research trips that had little to no chance of encountering the Goa'uld. Even so, Daniel convinced her to go for the full training program which would be useful to her even if she just wanted to remain in the base as a researcher.

'She still gets nervous around strangers, and me' thought Willow to herself as she looked at Tara, 'I still find that cute.'

Willow brushed her fingers along Tara's jaw, before reaching her neck, shoulders and the top of her left breast as she recalled Tara telling he a few years ago about her decision to take part in the full training program. She told Willow that Daniel, thanks to the foothold incident which Willow still had no clue happened, managed to convince her that full training would be useful. Tara told the redhead that she'll be based in the SGC itself, and would go off on research trips through the Gate if and when needed.

"I've been waiting for a time like this" said Willow softly as she looked at Tara as she returned her hand to the back of the blonde's head, "just you and me alone in an apartment."

"Me too, sweetie" said Tara as she kissed Willow before pushing her gently towards the larger bedroom, "I'm glad the others left."

"Uh huh" said the redhead as she entered the bedroom backwards while Tara was kissing her and running her hands up and down her naked back. Willow then broke the kiss once they were in the room and looked into Tara's eyes, "I mean I'm not glad, glad they left… I mean.. I'm glad they came here to see us and…. I mean, I'm glad that we're alone and they're not here but I didn't mean that in a bad way… you know?"

"Will?" said Tara as she placed a finger on the redhead's lips.

"Uh huh?" said Willow as Tara smirked at her.

"Can you just shut up and kiss me?" said Tara just before Willow grabbed the back of Tara's head and kissed her. Tara tried to reach behind her for the door while kissing Willow, and when she grabbed the edge of the door; she slammed it shut.

It was a few days later when it was Tara's graduation ceremony from the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs. Everyone had come to the campus to see her walk on the stage and receive the piece of paper that said she graduated with honours. Tara heard Willow and the others scream her name as she laughed and waved at them from the stage before heading back down the other side. As she walked to her seat, Tara looked up and saw Willow, Cassie, Buffy, Faith and Anya screaming and waving at her while the others held a large sign that said 'Congrats Tara'.

'Everything's good now' thought Tara to herself as she sat on her seat, occasionally turning back and waving at Willow, 'yeah, everything's going to be good.'

**Creek Apartments, Colorado Springs, 0730 hours; three weeks after graduation.**

Willow would have normally had a few weeks after graduation before she reporting to the SGC. However, she asked Colonel O'Neill if she could come in after a week; which he agreed to. Tara wasn't able to take the entire week off so they spent three days in Sunnydale with Buffy, who was on her break, before they headed back to Colorado Springs. Tara had a research assignment with Jonas, while Willow spent the rest of the four days of her break just lazing around.

When Willow reported to Colonel O'Neill and General Hammond after her break, she was briefed on her first official mission as a member of SG-1. She read the report on the destruction of Abydos by Anubis, the ascended Daniel telling the team about a lost city of the Ancients, and that it held powerful weapons that was capable of destroying Anubis. She was stunned to learn that Anubis was half ascended as she read the report. It was later that day that Jonas said he may have found the location of the lost city, a place called Vis Uban.

It was at Vis Uban that both SG-1 and SG-3 found an amnesiac Daniel among a group of nomads who found him in a clearing naked. After some convincing, the man returned to the SGC with them and encountered a surprised General Hammond and Tara at the bottom of the ramp. Once the blonde witch confirmed that it was indeed Daniel, he was taken for a check-up before being shown to his room. Eventually, the man rejoined SG-1 after Jonas returned to his home planet following an unsuccessful attack by Anubis to collect the planet's reserves of Naquadria, an unstable and radioactive version of naquada.

Despite her initial reluctance of getting close to Jonas, especially with her blaming the man for what happened to Daniel dying a year ago, Willow came to like him after spending time on research trips with him. The same went for Buffy; while Tara became fast friends with the man, she even accepted an invitation to visit his country once they had returned order to their planet.

It was three weeks after Daniel's return that found Willow and Tara sleeping together. Willow's back was to Tara, who had her arm on the redhead's waist, as she slowly opened her eyes. Smiling at the soft sounds that Willow was making as she slept, Tara leaned forward and gently kissed around the strap on Willow's shoulder.

"Ummm" smiled Willow as Tara moved slightly back while Willow turned onto her back and looked up at the blonde witch, "morning, baby."

"Morning" said Tara as she brushed the tip of her nose against Willow's before asking innocently, "did I wake you?

"I like having you kiss me in the morning" laughed Willow as Tara leaned forward to kiss her while the redhead wrapped her arms around Tara's back. The two of them kept on at in for a few minutes when there was suddenly a pounding on their front door. The both of them stopped kissing before they looked at each other confused.

"Expecting someone?" asked Willow and Tara together, before they looked at each other again, and laughed. A few seconds later there was even more pounding on the door.

"Coming!" shouted Willow as she got up while Tara sat on the bed and smiled as the redhead got out of bed in her shorts and tanktop, then walked to a robe on the table in the corner, and then walked out the door while putting in on. Tara then saw Willow stop in the hallway, before she turned back, walked back into the room, and kissed the blonde who was laughing.

"Go, sweetie" said Tara as she gently pushed Willow when there was more pounding on the door.

"Hold on, hold on" said Willow as she tied her robe and brushed her hair back before closing the door to their room. She opened the door ready to give the person on the other side a piece of her mind for pounding on someone's' door this early in the morning, however she stopped better she could get a word out of her mouth when she stared at the brown haired fourteen year old boy standing outside her door in clothes that were oversized for his body.

"Yes?" asked Willow as she stood at the door.

"Red" said the boy as Willow raised an eyebrow, "let me in, I need to talk to you."

"Ummm" said Willow as she shook her head and looked at the boy, "listen, I don't know you and…"

"Red" said the boy again, "it's me, Colonel Jack O'Neill."

Willow tried not to start laughing at the boy when he claimed he was Colonel O'Neill. She instead told him that she'll call his parents to take him home. He then reached into his oversized trouser pockets and took out a wallet while holding on to the front of his trouser so that they don't fall onto the carpeted floor. He gave the wallet to Willow and watched her look at his Air Force I.D and then looked back at him, the smile that had been on there earlier just vanished.

"What are you doing with the Colonel's identification card?" asked Willow sternly, "you do know it's a felony to impersonate an Air Force officer?"

"Red" said the boy as he pointed at himself, 'it's me."

"Who?"

"Jack O'Neill" said the boy, "look, I think someone put a whammy on me, and my guess is Kinsey. So get Tara and do the whole zippity zappity boop and get me back to my old salient self, will ya?"

"Huh?" asked Willow with her mouth wide open.

"Look, Lieutenant" said the boy claiming to be Colonel O'Neill, "you used to live in Sunndyale, you had something bad happen to you there involving a home invasion, you met a long lost twin you never thought you had. Ring a bell? Red?"

"Colonel?" whispered Willow as she leaned forward.

'Yes" said the boy as he waved his hands around, "now can I come in? And then Tara can.. you know.. grow me."

"Tara!" shouted Willow as she shut the door after the Colonel walked in, "umm… you better come out here."

"Willow?" asked Tara as she walked out of their room looking at the young boy in oversized clothes standing next to her girlfriend when she suddenly stopped mid-stride and just started at the boy's aura. She could see that there was something familiar about it, but different at the same time. Taking another step while looking at the boy, Tara stopped again as she narrowed her eyes, "Jack?"

"Finally!" shouted the Colonel as he looked at Tara, and then up at Willow, while pointing at the blonde witch, "she knew I was me, Red."

"Tara?" asked Willow.

"His… his aura" said Tara, "it's Jack's, "but…. but there's something else…"

"See" said the Colonel as he headed towards Tara, "magic right? Can you make me an adult again, and then I want Kinsey cursed for doing this to me… maybe make him fall in love with a demon.. the ugliest demon you can find."

"Jack, Jack" said Tara as she got down on both her knees and hovered her hands over the boy's chest, "calm down. I see something different than your regular aura but.. but I don't sense anything magic related. And using magic to… well, make you grow again when I know magic isn't involved could be dangerous."

"I'll call Major Carter, and General Hammond" said Willow, "then we'll take a shower and head to the SGC."

"Yea" said the Colonel as he sat on the couch as Willow stopped as she headed into the hallway and bit the lower part of her lip while Tara stood next to her, wondering what she was doing. Willow walked back to the Colonel while Tara looked on and asked him if he wanted some hot chocolate, or some cereal.

"I've got some Lucky Charms or… ah… Swiss Miss" said Willow as Tara covered the smile on her face with her hand, "I'm not sure what kids nowadays…"

"Red!" growled the Colonel as Willow grinned before heading back to Tara.

**Orbit over Earth hours, 2000 hours; one week later.**

The boy Colonel was tested on almost daily to find out why he was de-aged to a child. Eventually he learnt that it was an Asgard who was somehow involved in what happened to him. While Willow and Major Carter were looking in on technological ways to return the Colonel to his adult self; Tara, Daniel and Teal'c did some research on what the Colonel said he saw.

"I saw an Asgard looking at me" said the Colonel, "I was lying on something cold, and there were bright lights overhead."

Eventually, Tara and Daniel found that his accounts of the grey alien, and bright lights floating overhead were eerily similar to various alien abduction stories for several decades.

Due to some inconstancies in the medical tests, the SGC soon learned that not only was the child Colonel a clone of the original Jack O'Neill, he was also dying. Realizing the urgency of the situation, Willow and the Major helped Daniel and Tara through the research before finding that when the abducted victims were returned to where they were taken from, nearly a week had passed.

So, SG-1 decided to lay a trap for the Asgard who stole Colonel O'Neill's original body. Unsure of when he was taken, but certain that he was taken when he was fast asleep, SG-1 had the younger version of the Colonel stay in bed from seven in the evening reading magazines and books. In the meantime, Willow and the others were waiting out in a van, while Tara stayed with General Hammond in the Control Room at the SGC, monitoring everything that was going on.

The younger version of the Colonel was in his bedroom when there was a bright flash of light. Seeing the flash from the van, SG-1 rushed out of the van and into the Colonel's bedroom where they found the adult O'Neill sleeping soundly. After waking him up, he and the rest of the team were transported up to the Asgard vessel where he came face to face with his clone, while Willow walked over to the Asgard who was laying on the floor of the ship after the Clone had zatted him.

"Any idea who this is, sir? Ma'am?" asked Willow as she crouched down while looking up at the Colonel and Major Carter.

It was later, after the Asgard regained consciousness that they learned that he was called Loki. He explained that he was running unsanctioned experiments on humans so that he could save his race. He said that he thought Colonel O'Neill would be able to help his research since he had the Ancient gene, but something must have gone wrong because the clone didn't age. It was a few minutes later that the adult Colonel told Major Carter to contact Thor, who immediately beamed onto Loki's ship and walked towards him. Thor explained that the reason Colonel O'Neill's clone never aged was because of a genetic lock that prevented tampering of his DNA. He told Loki that he was in trouble before he agreed to help cure the clone off the genetic breakdown. As Thor was leading the clone away, Willow walked towards Loki and asked him a question.

"Loki" said Willow as the adult Colonel looked at her, "did you take anyone from Earth a little over three years ago?"

"I have experimented on many humans" said Loki as he looked at Willow.

"Willow?" asked the Major as she and Daniel walked towards her after hearing her question.

"Ma'am" said Willow as she looked up at the Major who was standing across from her with Daniel, before Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c joined them while Thor was putting the clone into a medical tube, "I've been raking my brain thinking why my alternate would tell me about that planet called Edina, the one she gave us the Gate designation number to. I know we discussed that she gave us a planet that we could send Glory to before making the decision that it was too dangerous.

"Yea" said Colonel O'Neill.

"I mean, I saw Mrs. Summers body.. I was there when we put the coffin into the ground. But if Loki cloned the Colonel, then is it a large leap that he cloned Mrs. Summers?"

"Well?" asked the Colonel as he looked at Loki who looked back at him, and then at Willow, before looking up at the ceiling.

"Loki" said Thor from the medical pod after hearing what Willow said, "have you done as they said?"

"I have carried out my experiments for the benefit of our race, Thor" said Loki.

"Against the orders of the High Council" said Thor as he activated the pod before heading back to where Loki was tied onto the floating platform, "how many people have you taken?"

Loki didn't say a word, all he did was look up at the ceiling.

"Sir" said Willow as he looked at the Colonel, "we never thought it possible, but what if it was the clone that died that day? It's a longshot, but… but if she really is alive…"

"Carter" said the Colonel as he looked at the blonde officer, "I want you, Red and Teal'c to beam back down to the SGC. Tell Hammond everything, including about the possibility of having Mrs Summers somewhere off-world. If he gives the ok, I want the three of you to Gate to Edina; and then report back. Once we're done with mini-me here, Daniel and I will meet you there."

The Major nodded her head before she, Willow and Teal'c vanished in a bright white light.

**Edina, 1500 hours.**

The sun was high up in the Edinian sky as Joyce, along with Jay in her arms were in a market at the other side of the village. She was looking at the fresh produce from the other nearby villages a she walked from one stall to another with an excited, jumping, Jay in her arms. Smiling at the toddler in her arms, the blonde woman walked past people who nodded at her, while other pinched Jay's cheeks as they walked past. She continued to walk towards on of the many fields and stood at the edge while they watched people working on the fields and then waved at Jayden.

After the man waved back, Joyce watched back inside the village and then bought some produce from the market before heading back home. She was going to put the produce at home before she went back to the art school she formed in one of the empty buildings. Jayden had told her that while woman worked as well in the fields; the ones who had children usually stayed with them at home, or did other duties that weren't as intensive.

Joyce remembered telling Jayden about her life on Earth, that she used to have her own gallery that showed off pieces of art from various countries, and time periods. It was then that Jayden convinced her to open something similar to an art school in the village. It was after her wedding that she finally opened a school were she taught art to the children of the village, even children… and adult from nearby villages would attend; at the same time increasing trade between the village and the other nearby villages.

Today was her day off, and all she wanted to do was walk around the village with her son in her arms. She walked past the village elders, of which Jayden was a part, as they nodded their heads and smiled at the blonde. Once of the female elders stopped and talked to Joyce for a few minutes before having to leave. Joyce then continued out of the village with her son in her arms. She knew it had been some time since she stood at the foot of the Stargate hoping for in to activate, so she stopped what she was doing and looked at her son.

"No, I'm not going there" said Joyce as she turned around while looking at the bubbles coming out of Jay's mouth, "but I wish that your sisters could see you."

Joyce started to walk back when she heard a sound of something locking from behind her. Turning around slowly, Joyce looked at the trees as another sound came from the direction of the Stargate. Walking slowly towards another sound, Joyce walked towards the Gate, hoping that it was who she thought it would be. When the fifth locking sound came through the air, Joyce started to run with Jay in her arms; the little boy laughing when they made it to the Stargate just as the unstable vortex kawooshed out and then settled into the event horizon of the wormhole.

Joyce took a few more steps towards the event horizon when it suddenly rippled, and a small vehicle came through and down the stairs of the pedestal that kept the Gate upright. She stood smiling as the vehicle drove towards her slowly, and then an arm with a camera on the end rose up and looked at her.

"Hi" said Joyce with tears in her eyes as she looked at the camera while holding on to Jay.

"Mrs. Summers" said a voice from the vehicle as she started to laugh, "this is General Hammond from the SGC. Good to see you again."

"Thank you, General" said Joyce, "how?"

"We're sending a team to explain" said the General as Joyce saw more ripples at the event horizon as Major Carter, Teal'c, and then Willow walked through the Stargate before the wormhole disengaged.

"Mrs. Summers" said Willow excitedly as she ran down the stairs and hugged the blonde who started crying in her arms.

While Willow was hugging Joyce, the Major dialled out to the SGC to tell them that that everything seemed to be alright, and that they'll check-in every two hours. In the meantime, Teal'c approached Joyce and bowed his head at her with surprise on his face.

"Mrs. Summers" said the Major as she approached Joyce as Willow stepped back after hugging her, "it's good to see you again."

"Thank you, Sam" said Joyce, "I.. I thought I'd never see any of you again."

"And who is this?" asked the Major as she walked, and stood, next to Willow as Joyce handed a laughing Jay to the blonde officer, while Willow was pinching his cheeks.

"My son, Jay" said Joyce as everyone looked at her surprised, "a lot of things happened… there's some lunch at home. You guys must be hungry."

"Looks like we've got a lot to talk about" said Willow as she, Major Carter, and Teal'c walked back to the village.

 


	58. Chapter 58

**Edina, 1530 hours.**

Willow couldn't believe what was happening. She was carrying Joyce's son in her arms and the baby giggled and pulled on her hair before talking a whole bunch of red hair into his mouth. Seeing this, Major Carter could only laugh before Joyce took Jay off Willow's hands, telling the redhead that he could do much more damage if she wasn't careful. As they walked down the trail to the village, Teal'c just looked around at the people working in the fields that surrounded the village, and then he looked at the crowded village where the people were looking back at them; some with concern on the faces at the weapons that the three members of SG-1 were carrying.

"This way" said Joyce as the made a turned and headed to a small two story building that had a thatched roof. One the way to the house, Joyce stopped a young man who couldn't be more than fifteen years old and asked him to send a message to Jayden to come back home…. That they had company. The boy looked at the people behind Joyce, and then at the blonde woman, and nodded his head before Joyce turned around and asked them to follow her.

Soon, the reached the front porch of the house as Joyce opened the door and walked in, holding it open from the inside before closing it behind them. Willow and the others looked around at the fairly large living room that was attached to a small kitchen that had a hearth in one corners as well as what seemed to be two brick ovens. Turning around, they also saw a staircase that went up to the second floor before they turned around again and saw Joyce standing in the middle of the room grinning from ear to ear while Jay lay in her arms as he looked at Teal'c, before reaching for him.

"Please, sit" said Joyce as she motioned towards the table and chairs next to the kitchen. The group sat down while Joyce placed Jay on his high chair as he continued to look at Teal'c while hanging his finger off his bottom lip with a smile on his face as he pointed at the Jaffa.

"I think he likes you, Teal'c" said the Major as she looked ta her friend who nodded bowed his head at the baby.

"Yea" said Willow as she wiped her hair off the drool, "he says he likes you, but then he tries to bite your hair."

Willow then looked at Joy before heading towards him with her hands out. Once she was close enough, she started to tickle the toddler who started to laugh before Willow kissed his forehead and went back to her seat next to Major Carter.

"How.. how did you find me? How's Buffy, Dawn and Faith? Where's Jack and Daniel, and…"

The Major told Joyce about Colonel O'Neill's clone and how Willow thought that since a clone of the Colonel was made, maybe there one who died in Sunnydale was in fact Joyce's clone. She told Joyce that since Willow's alternate gave them the information for Edina, then it was possible that the planet was where they could find Joyce, instead of it being a planet where they could leave Glory.

"I didn't know what else to do, but stay" said Joyce as she poked Jay;s cheek as he looked at his mother and laughed before looking excitedly at all the guests in the house, "I thought about just randomly pressing something on the dialling device but… but I figured that I may end up on a hostile planet."

"It is just as well that you stayed on Edina, Joyce Summers" said Teal'c, "you may have ended on a planet that is controlled by the Goa'uld."

"That was my fear. But I guess the good thing out of all of this is that first, I met someone I love very much, I have another child, Loki took out some tumours I had and made sure they don't come back, and.. well… he made me younger" said Joyce as she sat back on her seat before she looked down at her table and spoke quietly, "but still I was so depressed after getting here and… and well…. I hope my funeral went nice… can't believe I said that."

"Everyone came, Mrs. Summers" said Willow, "it was a small family thing, even Mr. Summers came too."

"Hank?" asked Joyce as she leaned forward in surprise.

"Yea" said Willow nodding her head.

"Buffy's doing alright, Mrs. Summers" said Major Carter as Joyce looked at her and smiled, "she's in her last year at the Academy. Tara's graduated from the university and has started on her Masters; she's working under Daniel and goes through the Stargate sometimes."

"You'll be proud of Faith" said Willow, "she's in her last year of U.C Sunnydale and she got emancipated. Dawn's in her custody now and well, they're still living on the same house."

"She did?" asked Joyce as she had a massive grin on her face as she thought about Faith looking after Dawn.

"Yep" said Willow, "she makes sure that Dawn gets to school, she went to her Parent-Teacher meetings, she even bakes for the munchkin, of course she still slays; and Giles, Xander and Anya still help out. But Faith's come on her own, Mrs. Summers."

It was just then that the door opened again as Jayden walked in to find his wife sitting at the table with two women, a man with a gold emblem on his forehead and his baby son.

"Greetings" said Jayden as the Major, Willow and Teal'c stood up.

"This is my husband" said Joyce as she walked towards Jayden and held his hand, "Jayden."

The Major and others nodded their heads at the man and noticed how happy Joyce looked, but it was Teal'c who noticed the look of fear on Jayden as he smiled at Joyce before looking at them. The older blonde then told them how Jayden the one who's been there for her since day one, that he was the one who took care of her when she was depressed, and who told her to remember Buffy, Faith and Dawn; and hope that she would see them again one day.

Willow also noticed the fearful look that Jayden was giving Joyce as she continued to speak about them, and she knew that that look was also mixed with a little bit of sadness. It was a look she had seen before; whenever Tara would leave after visiting the redhead when she was still studying at the Academy. Tara would later tell Willow that she was afraid that it would be the last time they see each other, and every time Willow would tell her that she felt the same, that she fears that Tara would get tired of her and leave.

"Of course not" the both of them would say to each other before leaving, however Willow knew that the fear stayed in Tara because it stayed in her too until after she graduated.

But as she looked at Jayden who looked back at them, Willow couldn't help but get that feeling from him.

"Joyce" said Jayden, "I should take Jay out, while you…"

"Stay" said Joyce as she looked at her husband while holding his hand tightly, "please?"

"Then.. then I should prepare the afternoon meal" said Jayden as Joyce kissed him on the cheek while Jay closed his eyes. Jayden then went up the stairs to change as Joyce looked at him walking away before she looked at the small group in her dining room. While Jayden took out a pot, they continued talking about everything that happened since she left. Joyce talked about everything that she had seen and encountered since she came to the village with Jayden who was her guide, "some of the women were jealous."

"Oh?" asked Willow with an eyebrow raised while Teal'c looked around the room, and then at Jay who was looking up at him, "how so?"

"Some thought I was a… I guess what we'd call a succubus… sent to Jayden through the circle of the gods" said Joyce as she heard Jayden chuckling from behind the kitchen, which made Joyce stand up and tell the man that it wasn't funny.

"Yes, yes it was" said Jayden as he looked at Willow and the others while cutting something, "its was this huge controversy, but then again… you have to understand that we do not get many guests here. So having a stranger here fired up the imagination of people… especially the women who were jealous of what she was wearing the first day she arrived. I told her it would pass, but even after the first six months.. she rarely went out by herself."

'Eventually I did" said Joyce as she stuck her tongue out at her husband who smiled at her, and then waved at Jay who waved back before he looked at Teal'c again, "I guess people got bored of having me around… I mean.. I wasn't the new, fangled person anymore.. so people started to warm up to me, and me to them… and.. and then me and Jayden got married. We had Jay, and… and well, now you're here."

"You have vast fields in the outskirts of the village" said Teal'c.

"Yes" said Jayden as he looked at the Jaffa, "we grow many crops. Not just us, but we have four other villages in close proximity to each other. We conduct trade, and we even have children sent from other villages to Joyce's school."

"School?" asked the Major.

"Art school" said Joyce, "I wanted to do something.. I mean I did work on the fields but after Jay was born, I mean it's kind of looked down upon here to work at the fields and have a child at home… so I opened a school. I could take care of Jay, while teaching the nearby kids at the same time."

"And she has done well for herself" said Jayden, "people love her.

Joyce just blushed as she looked down at the table and then at the remainder of SG-1 who was looking at her' Willow and the Major were smiling, while Teal'c gave her a small bow.

"Joyce" said Jayden as he started burning some wood for a fire, "why don't you have Buffy, Faith and Dawn for some food as well. It would give them a chance to see you again, and see their new brother."

"Actually" said Major Carter, "what we were going to suggest was a full medical check-up for Mrs. Summers back at the SGC, and we can do a full check-up on Jay too. Then there's the fact that we have to resurrect her back on Earth, and have a plausible cover-story that would explain her return. OKus we have two Asgard who would really, really like to apologize to you."

"Ummm… Sam?" asked Joyce as she looked at Jayden who looked back at her. The older blonde then looked at the Major before leaning forward and placing her hands on the table, "I'm so glad you guys found me that.. that I can't explain. But, it seems that Buffy will her own life to live very soon, so will Faith and Dawn. I mean, maybe Dawn will still need me but.. I'm still going to be closer to her than I ever was the past three years."

"You wish to stay on Edina, Joyce Summers?" asked Teal'c as Willow and the Major looked at each other.

"I have a new life here" said Joyce as she looked at Jay, and then at Jayden, "I have two people I never want to leave; and.. and it won't be right for me to force Jayden to move to Earth… I…"

"I am just a simple farmer" said Jayden.

"And one of the elders of the village" said Joyce as she looked at Hayden, and then at the Major and Willow before leaning forward again, "that's another reason the women were jealous."

"What I am trying to say is that, I don't believe I have skills that would be useful in your world" said Jayden.

"Well" said Joyce, "if you think about it, you are a good baker."

"I am certain that there are times when the crops do not grow as plentifully" said Teal'c as he looked around while Jayden and Joyce looked at each other with their mouths wide open, before they looked at Teal'c again.

"About three months of the year" said Joyce looking at Joyce, "we have to stockpile our food and…. I mean it lasts for the whole three months, and if it doesn't; then the neighbours are kind enough to share with one another but.. yea… three months at most. At the end we start planting again and then we continue for the rest of the year."

"Then the both of you could stay on Earth for those three months" said Willow as she looked at Joyce, and then at Jayden, "and I'm sure Faith would like some of your recipe's, she's been baking pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas."

Jayden just looked at Joyce confused before Joyce told him that they were holidays celebrated on Earth.

"Ah" said Jayden nodding his head, "however, I cannot leave for more than a few days. As one of the village elders, it is my responsibility to the village that I have to stay here."

"Then I'll go back for a few days too" said Joyce as she looked at Jayden who smiled at her. The man was afraid that Joyce would leave him for good if, and when, she met her people again. But he realized that wasn't the case; that she'd be with him no matter what happens, so he told her to stay the three months. That there was no need for Jay to suffer through the three months.

"Just so you know" said Jayden with a smile, "I can take care of myself."

"I know" said Joyce, "but maybe we should talk about it later?"

'Very well" said Jayden, "but I feel that you should have Jay, and yourself, looked at medically by your people. The doctor we have is a good man, but…"

"I know" said Joyce.

"We can help your doctors with medical technology" said the Major, "I can talk to my superiors and, if they approve, we can have some medical supplies sent.. and provide training for the doctor in use of those supplies."

"That is generous" said Jayden, "I would have to convene the council of Elders, and it would be up to us to make a final decision."

"And we would like for you to come as well, Jayden" said the Major as Willow gave him a smile.

"We can have you checked out" said Willow, "and I'm sure that Buffy, Dawn and Faith would like to meet you as well."

It was about an hour later that Daniel and Colonel O'Neill walked through the Stargate, just in time for a lunch of the local game stew, along with vegetables and Jayden's bread. The two of them were surprised to find out about Jay, and Jayden, but were welcoming all the same. Joyce and Jayden were told of the time difference between Earth and Edina while they were eating, as well as the Colonel and Daniel catching up with Joyce. The leader of SG-1 said that he'll talk with General Hammond about a cover story, as well as medical supplies for the village.

"But first" said the Colonel as he looked at Daniel, and then at Joyce, "we'll have to resurrect you, just like we did to Daniel when he ascended. The Colonel and Daniel then told the surprised older blonde about Daniel ascending to another plain of existence, and that they believe that is what happened to the monk who saved Dawn. It was another hour later that Joyce returned to Earth with Jayden, and Jay, where she was hugged tightly by Tara at the bottom of the ramp, while standing next to General Hammond.

"Mrs. Summers" said the General as he shook Joyce's hand, "welcome back to Earth."

"Thank you, General" said Joyce before he introduced Jayden, and Jay who waved at the man before trying to slap his hand on the General's bald head. Willow could only look at Tara and smile as Joyce pulled Jay back as he laughed before waving again at the General. While the General talked to Major Carter, and the rest of SG-1, Tara stayed with Jayden and Joyce while carrying Jay to the infirmary. They talked about everything, with the older blonde proud of Tara for having graduated and pursuing her Masters, just as Willow was.

Once all the medical tests were out of the way, Thor and Loki beamed down to the SGC briefing room where SG-1, Tara, and Joyce were waiting for Loki to appear, and apologize. However, the Asgard named after the Norse god of mischief refused to apologize for what he did, simply stating that he did what anyone would do for the protection of their race.

"We are dying" said Loki, "as the SGC is aware, we are all copies.. and we suffer from the law of diminishing returns. Our bodies are dying, and humans of Earth represent our forms thousands of years ago.. before our cloning program caused our bodies to break down."

"Mrs. Summers" said Thor as he glared at Loki before stepping forward and looking up at the blonde woman, "please accept my apology on behalf of the Asgard. While Loki's mission has been to save our race, he did it by conduction experiments that were unsanctioned by the Asgard High Council. I realize that this does not excuse you being forced from your children, and your friends, but I hope in time that you do forgive this transgression."

"I don't blame the Asgard" said Joyce, "after all your people saved my life years ago. I know that Loki did what he had to do, and maybe one day I may be even able to forgive him. But not today; however, I will say that him leaving me on Edina gave me a new family, a husband and a son.. and I am grateful for that."

"What will happen to Loki, Thor?" asked Colonel O'Neill.

"The Council will examine his records and ensure that he has not done this to anyone else" said Thor as he looked at Loki.

"I have not" said Loki as he looked at Thor, and then at Joyce, "I do not understand why the clone died. O'Neill's clone had the issue with Thor's genetic marker, but your clone did not. It is a conundrum."

"Well" said Colonel O'Neill, "there's no need to examine why the clone died, all we need to know is that Joyce is alive."

"Mrs. Summers" said General Hammond, "I believe that Cadet Summers is in her dorm room asleep, and…"

"I'd like for her to get her rest, General" said Joyce as the General nodded her head, "and.. and I'd like to surprise Dawn, and Faith.. and Giles and the others if possible?"

"Very well" said the General, "if you'd like, you and your husband and son can have the use of our VIP rooms."

"Thank you, General" said Joyce, "but staying in an enclosed space is… strange. I mean…"

"You'd see the stars while before you fall asleep?" said Willow as Joyce nodded her head.

"Plus you're on Edina standard time" said the Colonel as Tara smirked.

"Then perhaps it would be best for Joyce Summers to return to Earth at a suitable time that would be beneficial for both" said Teal'c.

"Tomorrow afternoon, then?" asked Joyce with a smile on her face.

"Very well, Mrs Summers" said General Hammond before he turned to Willow, "Lieutenant, please provide Mrs. Summers with a GDO and show her how to use it. I want you and the rest of SG-1 to head back to Edina to talk to this… group of Elders about medical supplies."

"Yes, sir" said Willow before she noticed the confused look on the older blonde's face, "it's a device where you input a code that lets us know it's you, Mrs. Summers. You just put in the address for Earth, and then input the code.. wait for the screen to say 'green' and then walk through. I'll show you."

"Alright" said Joyce nodding her head.

"Mrs. Summers" said the General, "once again, welcome back."

"Thank you" said Joyce as the General dismissed everyone. It was an hour later before SG-1 headed back to Edina with Joyce, Jayden, and Jay in tow.

TBC.

 


	59. Chapter 59

**Buffy's Dorm Room, Air Force Academy, 1400 hours; the next day.**

The future Lieutenant Buffy Anne Summers had just finished one of her classes as she packed her backpack and got ready to leave the lecture hall. While putting the books into her bag, Buffy smiled as she thought back to her first day of in-processing at the Academy, about how she wished that her mother was there; however Hank had been there to see her off, something which meant a lot to the young blonde. In addition, the man who had been her father-figure for most of her high school life also was there to see her off; Rupert Giles. She had said goodbye to Dawn, and her adopted sister, Faith who hugged the blonde before whispering in her ear that she'll always do anything better than her.

"Yea, sure" whispered Buffy into Faith's ear before they pulled away smiling, "seriously, good luck, Faith. I mean it."

"You too, B" said the dark haired Slayer as Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter, who had also arrived to see her off, took her into the complex where they gave her some last minute tips on the Basic Training.

"Major Daniels told me not to get too 'out there' with my, you know, slayerness" said Buffy as she nodded her head, "and you guys gave me info on what I should or shouldn't do the first six months to the end of the year. And.. I get it."

"As long as you don't pummel a cadet into the ground" said the Major, "everything's going to be alright. We've talked to General Hammond, and we're offering you the same deal as we did Willow, you graduate at the top of your class and you get into the SGC as a First Lieutenant. The both of you have the benefit of having special skills, so.. yeah. But I have a bet with Willow that if she beat's my achievements at the Academy.. then I have to buy her a steak dinner. The same goes for you, if you're up for it."

"I'd like mine medium-rare, please" said Buffy as she narrowed her yes at the Major while the Colonel chuckled.

Back in the present, Buffy swung her backpack over her shoulder as she got up from her seat and went up to the front of the class to talk to the professor about the year end research project that was assigned to the class. Once she has finished asking the questions she wanted to ask, the blonde… whose hair was now cut short to Air Force regulations, thank the professor before leaving the hall. She checked the clock on the wall once she left the hall and knew she had some time before she had to report for her intramural training session.

Just like Willow, she too had taken up soccer, which meant that there were times that her team would occasionally go up against Willow's team during tournaments. She recalled the last game before graduation where she, in the dying minutes of the game, ran from her mid-field position and past three of the other team's defenders including the redhead before passing to her current roommate, Jennifer Hailey who scored the goal just before time was called. Buffy still remembered Willow's face just before the redhead stuck her tongue out at the blonde before she helped her up.

Now as she continued to walked and smile at the memory, she didn't hear a voice calling out from behind her. It wasn't until a hand lay on her shoulder did she turn around and then suddenly straightened as she saw Major Carter, and Colonel O'Neill standing before her.

"Cadet Summers" said the Colonel.

"Sir, Ma'am" said Buffy as she saluted the both of them before the Colonel asked her to relax, "sorry I didn't hear you behind me, I was thinking about something."

"Thinking's good" said the Colonel before telling Buffy that she was to come with them, that they were heading into the city.

"But, sir" said Buffy, "I still have my training and then another class and…"

"You're excused from training" said Major Carter as she stepped towards the blonde Slayer, "General Kerrigan's already been read into the program and.. well, this concerns something we've recently found out about you through the program."

"Me, ma'am?" asked Buffy confused.

"We'll have you back in time for your next class" said the Colonel, "and then we've gotten you emergency leave for tomorrow."

"I don't understand" said Buffy, "Sir, ma'am, what's going on?"

"Come on, Cadet" said Colonel O'Neill as he stepped to one side and motioned towards the space between himself, and Major Carter, "it's something important that you have to see."

"Alright" said Buffy as she walked in between the Major and the Colonel, curious to know what was going on that was so important that she had been given emergency leave for tomorrow, and a pass from training.

It wasn't long before Colonel O'Neill's truck, which carried the Major and Buffy, arrived outside Willow and Tara's apartment. Confused as to what they were doing here, Buffy got out of the truck before following the two officers into the building and then walking up the stairs to the second floor. It was when she got closer to the door that Buffy heard Willow's voice followed by the loud laughter of a baby. All that time, the Colonel was looking at Major Carte before telling her that they must have missed something real good.

The Colonel then knocked on the door and stepped back as Tara opened the door before smiling at the Colonel and Major Carter. She then stepped aside while the group walked in as Willow, who was carrying the baby in her arms looked at her best friend and smiled.

"Are you well, Buffy Summers?" asked Teal'c as Buffy looked at the baby, and then at Teal'c.

"Hi, Teal'c" said Buffy before she looked at the grinning Willow again who was holding the baby up, and pointing at her, "ummm, Willow… did you guys adopt a baby, or something?"

"No, silly" said Willow as she nodded to the kitchen that was separated from Buffy's view by a divider. Buffy could see Daniel, Teal'c, and the three officers nodding towards the window… but it was Tara who grabbed her right arm before pulling her towards the kitchen where the blonde's eyes opened wide before she put her hands up to her mouth in shock as she took a step back.

"Hi Buffy" said Joyce with tears welling in her eyes as she walked towards the blonde after closing the oven in the kitchen, "I.. I missed you so much sweet heart."

"Mommy?" said Buffy as she took a few steps forward on trembling legs toward the still older blonde woman who was nodding her head. It was a few seconds later that BUffy rushed forward before hugging the older blonde tightly as she started to loudly sob while Joyce cried, and rubbed the Slayer's back at the same time.

"It's me, Buffy" said Joyce gently as the Slayer continued to sob, "I'm here, I'm real."

Buffy just nodded her head on Joyce's shoulder before she tightened her hold on Joyce.

"Oh, sweetie" said Joyce, "I'm so sorry."

"N.. no" said Buffy as she struggled for breathe while holding onto Joyce, "ho… how?"

"Remember that planet, Edina?" asked Daniel as Buffy pulled back before wiping her eyes, and holding on to her mother's hand while turning to face Daniel, "well, it wasn't a planet that Willow's doppelganger meant for us to send Glory to."

"You should thank, Willow" said Major Carter as Buffy looked at her best friend, "you see, Colonel O'Neill was cloned by an Asgard scientist known as Loki. Long story short, the clone was dying and we wanted to find the grown-up Colonel. So we laid a trap, found the original Colonel after Loki switched the bodies, the clone then beamed us up and then we found what Loki was trying to do."

"Red made the leap that it was probable that Loki cloned Mrs. Summers, and we went… we saw… we came back" said the Colonel as he nodded at Joyce.

"And" said Willow as she walked to Buffy while carrying the baby in her arms, "I think there's someone who wants to meet you."

"Buffy" said Joyce as she held on to both of the Slayer's shoulder's, "I'd like for you to meet your baby brother, Jay."

"Brother?" asked Buffy as she looked at her mother again, "mom?"

Jay began flailing his hands towards Buffy while giggling as Buffy turned around again and wiped her eyes while looking at Jay. She then looked at Joyce again, before looking at Jay before she smiled and walked towards Willow. The Slayer hugged Willow before she was handed Jay, as Tara walked over to Willow and stood next to her.

"Hey" said Buffy as her voice broke, and she sniffled while carrying Jay in her arms, "I'm your sister, Buffy."

Buffy saw the toddler smiling at her with his mouth open. She then looked up at her mother who then directed the Slayer to take a seat while the pie she had working in the oven baked. She sat next to a surprised Buffy as she recounted everything that happened to her from the time she was kidnapped, to having met Jayden, to having Jay, and then being found by SG-1.

"I wanted Jayden to come and meet you" said Joyce as Jay looked at Tara before flailing his arms towards her.

"Hey" said Buffy as she looked at Jay, and then at Tara who was seated next to Willow, and the others around her at the table before looking at the baby in her arms, "you are mine."

Buffy then brought Jay up before smothering kisses all very his face as he started to giggle.

"I wanted to surprise you, Buffy" said Joyce after Jay called down, and the blonde looked at Joyce, "I came here last night with Jay and Jayden for a medical exam, and I'm glad to say that the both of us are doing alright. Anyway, you were asleep last night so… I came back today. I wanted Jayden to come but he wanted me to come back and see you by myself first… he's kind of shy.. shy in a grown-up way.. I mean. I think he wants us to reconnect first before he meets you and… and I want you to meet him. His a nice person and… and he gave me a reason to go on when I was taken away from you, Dawn, and Faith. He told me to think of you three always and… and he's giving me a good life."

There was something in Joyce's voice that made Buffy look up from Jay; something in the words Joyce was saying that made her narrow her eyes at the woman next to her.

"Mom?" said Buffy, "you are coming back? I mean, you are coming back to Sunnydale and…. mom?"

"Carter" said the Colonel as he nodded his head towards the door while an open mouthed Buffy was looking at Joyce.

"Umm… I think we need to get some groceries done" said Tara before she gently placed a hand on Buffy's shoulder and kissed her cheek. Willow then told Buffy that they'll be right back before the redhead went to hug Joyce again. It was a few seconds later that Daniel, and Teal'c followed SG-1 out of the room as Buffy and Joyce sat next to each other while Jay was running his hand on Buffy's face.

"Mom?" asked Buffy as she looked at Jay, and then back up at her mother, "you're not staring here, are you?"

"I can't" said Joyce as she put her hand on Buffy's shoulder, "at least not all the time. Jayden, he… he looked after me for a long time. Those six months I was depressed, he was there for me and… and he's the one who told me that I must never forget you girls. And I never have. You, Faith, and Dawnie have always been in my mind; but you girls have your own lives to lead now. Faith's graduating the same time as you, then soon it will be Dawn's turn to get into university.. and I'm going to be there for all of it. But Jayden has responsibilities on Edina, so do I; and so do you, Buffy. You're entering a life of exploration and discovery, Faith and Dawn will move on too and.. and this isn't like the past three years where I don't know what happened to you girls, or to the others; I'll be right there, a step through the Stargate."

"Just a call away" said Buffy softly as she looked at her mother who gave her a little smile.

"Yes, honey" said Joyce as she leaned forward and kissed Buffy's forehead, "I'm so proud of you."

"Have you told Dawn and Faith yet?" asked Buffy.

"That's why Jack and Sam got you emergency leave for tomorrow" said Joyce as Buffy nodded her head in understanding, "we've talked and decided that I'll be resurrected on Earth. Jack and General Hammond came up with the idea of a cover story that's kind of believable. That I saw the murder of an Air Force officer, and that I had to be placed in Witness Protection so that I could give evidence in the trial of the fictional senior officer who murdered him. The Air Force had to fake my death, hiding it even from my own children and ex-husband, while I was relocated to North Dakota."

"Seriously?" asked Buffy dryly, "out of all the places? There?"

"Hey" said Joyce with a smile, "don't knock it. Anyway, while there I met a Jayden Jennings and I married him, then I had a son with him. I was hiding until recently when I gave evidence in a secret military trial, and now… I'm living in North Dakota, and I'll be coming to visit my family every so often. Especially during our days together."

Buffy smiled as she remembered that New Years, Thanksgiving and Christmas were the holidays that were just theirs…. just a small family enjoying themselves and cutting themselves off for the world of Slayers, demons and Vampire.

"I'll be here for three months out of every year" said Joyce as she pinched Jay's cheek, "the village I'm staying with Jayden in on Edina is surrounded by crops, and there are three months of every year when the harvest is bad. During those months, I'll be here… but Jayden said he needs to stay in the village for most of the time. He wants to meet you.. I mean I wish you and the girls would meet him and…. anyway, he's one of the village elders and he's got responsibilities, but he wanted Jay to know his sisters on Earth."

"I'd like to meet him" said Buffy softly as she felt Jayden wrap his arms around her neck, "he seems like a good man."

"He is" said Joyce.

"So tomorrow?" asked Buffy as Joyce nodded her head. Buffy then turned her head and shouted that she could hear the others whispering outside the door, "you've been there for the last ten minutes. You could come in, you know."

Buffy then looked back at Joyce and smiled as Willow, Tara, and the others all sheepishly walked back into the room.

"Yea" said Willow scratching her head, "forgot about the Slayer hearing part."

"Neat cover story, huh?" asked the Colonel as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Not cliché at all, sir" said Buffy as she looked at Joyce before looking back at him, "at least it wasn't twins, or something."

"That's clichéd" said Major Carter.

"What happens now?" asked Buffy as she looked at her mother again.

"We have some pie" said Joyce as she nodded at the oven, "and then… and then…"

"You spend some time with your brother and your mother" said Major Carter, "before we drop you off at the Academy for your class, and we accompany Mrs. Summers back to Edina."

"The SGC offered to install some solar powered chargers for the defibrillators we're offering the Edinians" said Daniel, "SG-1 and two of the medical teams will be heading there to pick out suitable sites, while the medical staff starts talking with the doctors in the village, as well as the nearby villages that were contacted by the elders."

"Mrs. Summers will be coming back tomorrow" said Willow as Buffy looked back at her and smiled.

"We will then make our way to Sunnydale" said Teal'c, "O'Neill has indicated that Cordelia Chase and Major Daniels would like for me to provide the Potential Slayers who are being trained with – tips."

"You never know, T" said the Colonel.

"Indeed" replied Teal'c.

Buffy looked back, and nodded her head, at Teal'c before she looked at her mother again. It was someone she never thought that she'd see again, and it was then she learnt to always expect the unexpected. She thought she learnt it when she first saw Willow's doppelganger appear in her living room, she thought she learnt it when she saw the monk and Daniel transform into lights and float up into the air, but as she looked at her mother who kissed her forehead before heading into the kitchen to check on the pie, while her new baby brother was fast asleep on her shoulder – Buffy finally knew that anything could happen.

'Dawnie, Faith' thought Buffy to herself a she looked at her mother, 'mom's home.'

 


	60. Chapter 60

**Deserted Building, six miles from the Bronze, Warehouse District, Sunnydale; 2200 hours.**

Faith, Captain Graham, Spike and two others were preparing to enter a white four story building that was said to be a Blood Den, a place where humans could get a high from being bitten by vampires. The IPR had known about these places for the past year or so, but Giles always said that while it was foolish for humans to knowingly enter these dens to get bitten by vampires; it was far better than having vampires killing people out in the streets. However, it was Cordelia who ordered that they be closely monitored, that if any vampires started killing their 'customers' then there would be a response.

That notification was put out through word of mouth at Willie's Bar, a haven for vampires and demons, and various other creatures of the night. They knew that, even though creatures of the darkness came to Sunnydale because of the Hellmouth, the IPR had been able to hold off any type of armageddon. At least so far.

Recently, it had come to the IPR's attention that once of these den's were disposing of human bodies, that the vampires who frequented the building were killing off the humans they were feeding off. One of these vampires who was new in town boasted that he and some of his nest were using the den as a feeding ground, and that no one would be able to stop them.

"Giles" said Cordelia as Giles sat across from her on the other side of her table, with Faith leaning against the wall, as well as Spike, Major Daniels, "this one's gone too far. I understand your reasons for wanting us to not interfere while all they did was just feed a little before the human customers left alive.. but the police found seven bodies in the park last night; all with bites on their necks and drained off blood."

"If you're suggesting we go after this group" said Giles, "you won't hear any complaints from me."

"Maybe we should think about taking the other ones out" said Faith as Giles looked at the senior Slayer who shrugged, "just sayin' G-Man."

"While that's a good plan" said Giles as he looked at the Slayer, "I believe that would drive this whole operation underground, and it would most likely cause even more deaths."

"So we hit this one building" said Major Daniels, "and then we'll have Spike spread the word?"

"Yes" said Giles before he looked at Cordelia, and then at Faith, "you know my feelings on this. Vampires are the responsibility of the Slayer, but the fact remains that more will come to Sunnydale because of the Hellmouth, and your attention should be to those who are wantonly killing innocents."

"Like this den, you mean?" asked Spike as Giles nodded his head, "ok then.. I'll have a go. They don't set off this chip in my head so that's my quota of hitting idiots for the day."

"Giles" said Faith as she spun a stake in her hand while glaring at Spike, "I haven't filled my quota of hitting Spike… can I hit him during this op?"

"Of course" said Giles as Faith grinned while Spike narrowed his eyes at the dark haired Slayer, "just don't kill him."

"Awww… shucks" replied Faith. She then saw Spike opening his mouth to say something, but she interrupted and said that she was the Slayer, and he'll always be her target.

"Major, Giles, Faith, Spike" said Cordelia, "you have a go. How many vampires are we dealing with?"

"Seventeen" said Major Daniels.

"You know what to do then" said Cordelia as the Major, and Faith nodded their heads, "take them down."

That night, a black van stopped at the side of another building that was right across from the den. With the van blocking anyone from the den seeing what was happening, the side door of the van opened towards the other building as two figures in black garb, one carrying a bag, headed into the darkened building and headed for the roof. Once those two were in, the van drove off and stopped a few meters away as the side door opened again and five people, all in black, got out of the van and headed towards the den using the shadows for cover.

"Eagle" said Graham as he tapped the ear piece, "do you have an eye on our targets?"

"Yes" said Giles as he took out the same type of thermal imaging camera the Initiative used to use while he was being covered by one of the Potential Slayers. He crouched down and looked through the device while the Potential scanned the area around them for anything that was out of place. Out of the original five Potential Slayers, three of them had turned eighteen recently and was allowed to participate in the advanced training that Major Daniels was giving for the soldiers, and Faith, Xander, and Anya. One of these Potentials, a redhead by the name of Violet was given the chance to accompany Faith's team to gain some experience in the field. Giles knew that another Potential by the name of Kennedy was out with Xander's team, and Amanda was out with Anya's team… both teams conducting a patrol of Sunnydale while another team of soldiers, were sent to L.A to help Angel Investigations stave off a possible demonic incursion; a group of four demons were foreseen to open a gateway in L.A by the Devon Coven, who in turn warned Angel and Giles. Giles then informed Cordelia and Major Daniels, before a team was sent to L.A.

Back in the current situation, Giles looked over his shoulder and called for Violet. The redhead moved over to his side as the both of them looked through the screen of the device.

"What do you see?" asked Giles as he nodded at Violet to continue after she tapped her earpiece.

"I see sixteen bodies… still warm, so they're human?" asked Violet.

"Yes" said Giles, "and vampires?"

Violet looked at the outlines in blue before she looked at Giles who nodded his head.

"Twenty" said Violet as she looked at the vampires who showed n the screen as being room temperature, "looks like three more joined them, do we warm them?"

"No" said Giles, "if they're here, then it's possible that they know this is a feeding ground; and… there are no innocent vampires. Doesn't matter if they have a chip, or a soul."

"I can bloody well hear you" hissed Spike over the radio.

"I know" said Giles as Violet grinned, "Team Alpha…"

"I thought we were going with something cool this time?" asked Faith over the radio as she took position at the building next to the den, "how about the G-Team? When you need help, you call the G-Team."

Faith heard her whole team moan in her ear piece as she looked up towards the roof where she knew Giles was going to be, and grinned.

"Fine" said Giles, "G-Team, you have a go."

"You liked that, didn't you Mr. Giles?" asked Violet after everyone acknowledged the older man.

"Faith's grown so much as a young woman, and as a Slayer that sometimes it seems as if she doesn't need me anymore" said Giles softly as he peeked his head over the edge of the roof and watched Faith prepare to make a move, "but she sometimes makes me feel that she still needs me, even when I know she doesn't. The responsibilities that she's taken on with Dawn, and taking over for Buffy… well, you've seen her growth."

'She's a hard teacher sometimes" said Violet as she nodded her head before she moved next to Giles and looked over the edge of the roof, "Kennedy, Amanda, Rona and Abigail want to be like her."

It wasn't too long before Faith and the others made their move towards the den. Giles and Violet, from their position on the roof, watched as the figures headed towards the den; all the while, Giles was telling the Potential Slayer what was going on.

"Sun spheres" said Giles as he and Violet looked at the other building before the watcher turned to face the redhead while making a circular sign with his fingers, "Amy's the one who developed it. A purple coloured potion that's contained within a circular glass sphere. The one who's throwing the glass into the building will have to say a spell before throwing it in."

"And the spell?" asked Violet as they saw Faith break in the door while Spike stayed out of sight. They then saw Faith throw something into the den before running out and telling her team to put on their goggles.

"Just one word" said Giles as he pushed Violet down onto the ground and told her to close her eyes as a bright yellow light shone from the ground floor of the den, "Solaris. The glass cracks on hitting the ground, and then when the liquid inside collides with the oxygen in a given space… you have sunlight. Enough sunlight to take out multiple vampires at one go."

Once the light faded, Graham informed Giles and then both he and Violet got up and looked over the roof again. Activating the thermal imager, Giles smiled as he leaned sideways towards Violet and asked her what she saw on the screen.

"There's only seven left" said Violet, "all on the third floor."

"Faith, Graham, Spike" said Giles, 'did you hear that?"

"Yea, you git" said Spike, "the light almost hit me from my hiding spot! Madison made this batch too powerful."

"Sorry about that, my heart weeps" said Giles dryly as Violet chuckled.

They then saw Faith heading into the Den, followed by the rest. Looking through the thermal imager, Giles and Violet could see that Faith and the others already engaged the vampires as, one by one, the signatures disappeared. It wasn't too long before Spike came over the radio saying that it was all over, that they found the 'customers' alive.. but severely weakened.

Giles nodded at Violet who called for paramedics to take the weakened 'customers' to the hospital. It was then that they heard Spike cursing over the radio as he started spewing some choice words at Faith.

"Faith?" asked Giles, "what's happening?"

"I just got my quota in" said Faith as Giles smiled before he nodded at Violet. They then put the thermal camera back into the bag and headed out of the building and into the awaiting van, while Graham dealt with the paramedic's questions.

**The Summers Residence, 2300 hours.**

As Faith walked into the foyer of the Summers house after the mission, she closed the door behind her while looking up at Dawn sitting down at the top of the stairs holding two objects in her hands. Placing her keys into the bowl that Dawn had made in her high school pottery class, the dark haired Slayer looked up at the smiling brunette who stood up as she held the two objects out to her sides. In the meantime, the slayer raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"So" said Faith as she took a few steps forward while looking up at Dawn, "it's time."

"As it always has been" said Dawn as she threw one of the objects, a grey and black cylindrical hilted object with a red button on the top, as well as a blue tube that jutted out of the cylinder, down to Faith who caught it before sweeping it to her side; still staring up at Dawn, "and as it forever shall be."

"Come then" said Faith as she pressed the button and the tube lit up while making a swoosh sound.

Dawn did the same thing as she pressed the button on the one she was carrying and a green light shone through the tube that she was wielding as it made the same swooshing sound as Faith's.

"Eeeeeep" squeaked Dawn when Faith ran up the stairs and swung the object at her, making Dawn jump back as the both of them stood at the hallway, with Dawn's back to her room.

"You had the higher ground, my Padawan" said Faith as she deepened her voice and stepped forward swinging at Dawn who blocked the hits, "you should have attacked."

"No" said Dawn as she blocked the last hit before pushing Faith back and swinging her device as Faith blocked the hit as the device made a sound once the two tubes clashed. Dawn then went on an attacking frenzy, and this time it was Faith who was pushed back towards her room on the other side of the hallway.

"The dark side will never win" said Faith as she stepped back while Dawn grinned as she attacked Faith.

"Come to the dark side, Faith" said Dawn in a deep voice, in between taking exaggerated deep breaths, "join your calling."

"No, never" said Faith as she pushed back and started to put Dawn on the defensive as the brunette was pushed back to her room, "remember who you once were, come back to the light; come back to me."

"Never!" shouted Dawn as she pushed back Faith and stood there as the Slayer regained her balance before bringing up her device.

"Dawn" said Faith gently don't fight this, "you belong to the light."

"Come to the dark side" said Dawn, "your sister awaits."

"My sister is gone" replied Faith.

"No" said Dawn as she stood up straight before putting her hand on her own chest while still talking in that deep voice, "I am your sister."

"What?" asked Faith in shock as she opened her eyes wide and stepped back while shaking her head, "no… that's not true… that's impossible."

"You know it to be true, Faith" said Dawn with an eyebrow raised at the Slayer, "you know your heart says it is true."

"No!" screamed Faith as she closed her eyes and fell to her knees.

"The dark side always wins, Faith" said Dawn in that deep voice as she walked towards the Slayer, "and we have cookies."

"Chocolate chip?" asked Faith as she opened one eye and looked up at Dawn while she was still on her knees.

"Uh huh" said Dawn in the deep voice.

Faith then shrugged her shoulders, dropped the device she was holding and stood up.

"Fine" said Faith, "you win."

"Ah hah" shouted Dawn, "I win… again… hahaha."

"Come here" said Faith as she went after Dawn who immediately turned laughing and ran towards her room. However she didn't make it as she felt arms going around her before they tightened and she found herself being lifted off the floor, and spun around.

"Faith" giggled Dawn.

"You're still up, squirt" said Faith kissing the top of Dawn's head before letting her go, "you've got school in the morning. And you know how fussy you get when I have to wake you up by pouring water on your face."

"I don't get fussy" said Dawn as she turned and looked at Faith, "I'll have you know that I'm almost a junior in high school, and a teenager… I don't get fussy."

"Uh huh" said Faith as Dawn ran up to her and hugged her again.

"I just wanted to make sure you came home alright" whispered Dawn into Faith's ear, "oh, Tara sent me a video recipe of her mac and cheese, I made some and left the leftovers for you. It's in the microwave."

"Thanks, squirt" replied Faith before Dawn released her, "now go to sleep, young lady. I have the day off tomorrow from the IPR… well, unless there's an apocalypse.. so we'll do something after school.'

"Barbeque?" asked Dawn.

"Fine" said Faith as she nodded her head.

"You asking Amy to come?" asked Dawn as she leaned forward and puckered her lips. She then laughed at the look on Faith's face; laughs that immediately stopped when the brunette gave a little scream before turning around and running back into her room and closing her door so that the Slayer chasing her couldn't come in.

Grinning, Faith stared at the closed door before putting her hand on the sign that said 'Dawn's Room, Keep Out!' and told Dawn to go to sleep.

"Good night, Dawn" said Faith.

"Night" said a still laughing Dawn from the other side of the door, "eat the food before you sleep, will ya?"

"I will" said Faith as she picked up the two replica lightsabers that were on the carpet before she walked into her room. The dark haired Slayer placed the two devices on their respective stands before she stepped back and walked out of her room, and down the stairs to the kitchen. As she walked down the stairs, she walked past new pictures that were hanging on the wall, as well as new pictures on the living room mantle, and some on the walls around the fireplace. Faith walked past those pictures as she remembered making a new life for herself, and then helping to make a new life for her and Dawn after Joyce's death, and then after Buffy left for the Academy. Faith passed pictures of herself, Amy, and Dawn together at the bronze with the younger Summers rolling her eyes upwards as Amy was whispering something into Faith's ear. She walked past a picture of herself and Dawn in Jedi robes during last month's Halloween get together at the IPR. Dawn, and Xander had insisted that they dress up in something cool in case there was another Halloween spell. Xander and Anya chose to be James Bond and Xena, while Faith and Dawn got Jedi robes that were sent to them from a costume store in L.A courtesy of a favour that Angel owed Faith, and the Slayer had bought two replica lightsabers.. complete with lights and sounds on Ebay.

Smiling to herself, Faith walked into the kitchen and took out the bowl of macaroni and cheese that Dawn made and placed it on the island. She then opened the fridge and took out a beer before she headed back to the island where she took off the top of the bottle. Sitting on a seat, the dark haired Slayer then started to eat her food.

**Willow and Tara's Apartment, 0400 hours.**

Ever since Tara told General Hammond that she would like to participate in select missions through the Stargate, the blonde witch had been fully trained in everything from self-defence, to handling all forms of weapons on the base; however, she preferred still using the Zat so that she could stun people she went up against. While she was being trained in Gate travel, she was also studying up on her magic… particularly from books that her mother had left for her in storage, something that she had discovered months after she and Willow moved to Colorado Springs. It was really Daniel who found it after running a check on Tara's request for anything that her family may have left her following her Brother, and father being sent to prison for attempted kidnapping; as well as her cousin Beth who was placed into a woman's correctional facility for conspiracy to kidnap Tara, and for a count of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

It was during that search that Daniel found a storage unit in Illinois under the name of Tara's mother. When she, Daniel and Teal'c went down to the unit… they found all sorts of spell books imaginable. In addition they found books on rituals, summoning, demonic compendiums; books on light magic, dark magic, books of the history of magic, and even books that were about the Old Ones. They were surprised to learn that most of the books were first editions, and while Tara kept some of the books for herself… she donated the rest to the IPR with an agreement later reached between Giles and Daniel that the archaeologist could study some of the history of the early Earth that was contained in those books. Since she began studying the books she kept for herself, Tara slowly built on her mother's own teachings, particularly when it came to healing spells.

However, she hardly used her magic except for times when it meant the protection of others around her. And there really wasn't much use for her magic off-world, she had been attached mostly to research teams when she wasn't on base helping Daniel with various projects on translating Goa'uld, and Ancients texts that they found on other worlds. The research missions she were on were never attacked by the Goa'uld, leading to some believing that having Tara on their team was a lucky charm. Some believed that they could go on continuing research while not being attacked by the Goa'uld, particularly the forces of Anubis after he appeared for the first time to the Tau'ri during the former system lord's first direct attack on Earth when he unsuccessfully tried to destroy the Earth by attempting to use an Ancient weapon to overload the Stargate, or directing an asteroid made of Naquada to hit the planet.

Tara really preferred staying in the base, she felt her place was more as a researcher while Willow and the others would head out through the Stargate and battle the Goa'uld. She would always see the redhead off to her missions, and she would always be there SG-1 returned from their missions. However, there would always be a pain in her chest when they would receive the IDC from SG-1, and the blonde witch would think that something bad could have happened, and that Willow.. or one of the team was injured.

Whenever she had Willow by her side, Tara was happy. A part of her was always afraid that the redhead would never come back, but when she did her heart would always jump. Having Willow close by was something that she looked forward to, and she would laugh on the inside when she realized that Willow was a part of her that she couldn't live without. She needed Willow, and Willow needed her. Tara remembered the redhead caressing her face before she kissed her, it was soon after Joyce had left for Edina once again; she said that she would be returning tomorrow so that all of them would be able to leave for Sunnydale and surprise Faith, Dawn, and the others.

Willow gently pushed Tara towards their room as she continued to kiss her before Tara slowly got onto their bed without ever breaking their kiss. Tara remembered the both of them gently making love before they fell asleep, and it was then that the blonde witch had a strange dream.

Tara found herself standing in one of the SGC hallways in her full tactical gear. She knew that she was sleeping next to Willow in their apartment, she knew that this was dream.. but that didn't make the experience of smelling dead bodies any different, or the lights and sounds of the klaxons that were going off. She looked around at where she was standing in the corridor and could burnt bodies laid against the walls. As she walked through the hallways, Tara saw more and more bodies that were essentially hung on the walls of the hallways.

'This is just a dream, just a dream' Tara kept on thinking to herself. It wasn't too long when she came to an intersection that branched off into two directions. She heard weapons fire form one direction, while in the other direction she noticed a figure in a white and gold accented cloak and hood walking away from her.

"Hello?" asked Tara as she looked at the figure, who suddenly stopped and glanced back, the hood hiding the face. Tara then saw the figure continue to walk away from her. Taking out her Zat, Tara shook her head before she headed to the figure. Tara knew that this was in her mind, that what was happening wasn't real, 'people aren't dead. I just saw a few of them yesterday after Mrs. Summers went back to Edina. But that figure… that figure shouldn't be in my dream. Whoever it is… it's new. Someone broke into my dream and… whoever can do that is powerful… going through the magical blocks that protect my mind… it's something.'

"Hello?" asked Tara as she raised her raised at the figure who stopped again, "please, don't move. My name is Tara Maclay and….."

"I know who you are" said the figure that had her back to the witch as Tara narrowed her eyes recognizing the voice as being that of a female, "and I know what you will ask next; my name, and who I am, does not matter."

"How did you get into my mind" asked Tara, "it's defended."

"Does it matter?" asked the figure, "I just come to give you a warning. Whether you inform you superiors is another thing altogether."

"What warning?" asked Tara as she motioned her arms towards her surroundings, "you mean all this that's going on?"

"The time is almost upon this place" said the figure, "soon, there will be two choices to be made for the soul of another."

"I don't understand" said Tara, "what do you mean?"

"Do you save the soul by allowing the vessel to die, or do you place the soul in everlasting torment by allowing the vessel to live" asked the figure as she glanced back at Tara with her face still hidden, "when he arrives, a choice will have to be made."

"Wait!" shouted Tara as the figure walked into another hallway. Tara ran after her, but once she turned into the hallway, Tara saw no one there.. at least no-one in white and gold. Instead, she came face to face with several Jaffa.. one of whom shot at her with a zat. The last thing she saw before she fell onto the cold cement floor of the hallway, and closed her eyes, as the Jaffa ran towards her was the figure as she looked right at Tara. It was then that Tara noticed something as her vision blurred, there were strands of red hair that were visible on the white hood.

"Get away from her!"

Tara didn't know how long she was unconscious. All she could hear were shouts from Buffy in the distance, and the sounds that the Stargate made as the inner track spun before the chevrons locked.

"Tara, Tara…. I need you to get up… I told you to leave.. to get out with Daniel and Sam… why are you….. Tara! Hey you…. stop! Don't…."

"Buffy?" whispered Tara when she felt a sudden pull of her hair as she opened her eyes wide before giving off a little scream as she was harshly pulled up to her feet. She looked behind her and saw a big, burly Jaffa holding on to a chain. She followed the links of the chain and found that it was attached to a collar around her neck. Tara tried to move, but her hands were tied behind her back and there was something else… a stinging pain on her back. Tara tried to use her magic, but she couldn't concentrate.. it was like her mind as in a state of permanent confusion.

"Tara?" asked Buffy as Tara turned to looked at her. It was then that Tara looked on shocked at the bleeding and badly beaten Slayer who was being held up by two large Jaffa, "Tara.. why did you stay? You were supposed to get out with Sam… with Daniel.. why are you here?"

"Buffy?"asked Tara, "this is a dream, I…."

"I just saw you leave, Tara" said Buffy who was panting as she hung her head. It was then that Tara noticed something blinking on the blonde Slayer's shoulder blade. The blonde Slayer then looked up at Tara and told her that she shouldn't have come back for her, "you didn't need to see her… not like this."

"Buffy?" asked Tara, "this is just a dream… I know this is a dream because, this…. All of this is just…"

"This isn't a dream!" shouted Buffy, "it's not a dream to me.. not a dream to the hundreds being killed in the mountain… this isn't a dream form the millions who are dying right now… we changed our codes, we.. changed everything but she still came…. Her ships still came."

"Buffy?" asked Tara, "what are you…."

It was then that the Stargate activated with the unstable vortex surging out before it settled into the event horizon. Tara looked at the blue puddle before looking at Buffy and asked her why the iris wasn't working, why it didn't descend.

"She hacked our codes" said Buffy as she looked at Tara confused, "you.. you really don't know?"

"Know what?"

"What was the last thing you remember?"

"Mrs Summers met you after she spent all those years on Edina" said Tara as Buffy's eyes widened, "and then…"

"Kill her" said Buffy as she interrupted Tara, "she's my best…. She was my best friend… she's one you love… but you have to kill her. Tara, kill her for all our sakes and…."

"Silence" shouted the Jaffa as they hit the back of the knees for both Buffy and Tara as they fell on their knees. They looked up as the event horizon rippled before eight Jaffa walked through the Stargate, four each in two rows. They walked down the ramp and stopped at the bottom in a straight line before they turned and faced each other. Then two other Jaffa walked into the Gateroom carrying what seemed to be transparent canisters with Goa'uld symbiotes swimming inside, one being larger than the other. The two Jaffa walked to the bottom of the ramp and then stood at either side.

Tara saw the Stargate ripple one more time as her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. She saw the woman she loved walking through the event horizon wearing skin-tight dark blue clothes, with a black cloak around her as she walked down the ramp smiling at Buffy and her.

"My, my, my" said Willow in a very deep voce as she looked at Buffy, and then at Tara, and back to Buffy again, "Buffy Summers."

"Willow" said Buffy as Wallow walked towards her, "fight him… fight…"

Tara saw Willow hit the side of Buffy's face with the back of her hand as she fell onto the floor hard.

"Buffy!" said Tara before she looked up at Willow who was staring back at her.

'Something in those eyes, it.. it's not Willow… it's not her… no!'

"Who are you?" asked Tara as the Jaffa roughly brought Buffy up to her knees by pulling at the chain that was attacked to the collar around her neck as well, "you're not Willow."

"You do not recognize me" said Willow in that same deep voice as the redhead walked over to Tara and crouched in front of her before she grabbed Tara by the neck, and squeezed. Willow looked into the blonde's eyes before she started to laugh, "you really do not recognize me, Tara Maclay."

"You're my Willow" said Tara after the redhead released the grip on her neck, "you're…"

"Willow Rosenberg is no more" said Willow as she leaned forward and whispered into Tara's ear, the blonde getting goosebumbs all over her body as she came to a frightening realization, "the host exists no more. I have used her memories, her skills to finally have revenge on this world… on this place… I will use her knowledge to unleash hell on this planet, to open the dimensional gateways that you call the hellmouths and release it all on this world. The nishta will be so potent that all the Tau'ri, be they ordinary humans, your Slayers and their ken, or any of your witches…. That will all fall under my control. And then.. and then I will unleash a nishta bomb after the demons have come through, and then.. then they will answer to their god. They will unleash hell throughout the entire galaxy and when I am bored. I will restart life…. I will remake every living thing as I see fit."

"You're insane" said Buffy as she panted.

"No" said Willow as she looked at Buffy, and then at Tara, "I am a god."

"No… Willow" said Tara shaking her head as the redhead leaned forward and whispered into Tara's ear again.

"I am Anubis."

Tara's eyes were still wide in shock as Anubis looked into her eyes once more.

"There is nothing you can do, Tara Maclay" said Anubis, "you are from a different time frame, from the past and you have gotten a glimpse of your future. Your future under my rule, and I will tell you this my queen, everything that Willow Rosenberg is, was, and forever shall be will be mine. Her powers will be mine, her knowledge will be mine… I will conquer the galaxy using those powers and… and there is nothing that you, or anyone else can do about it. I tell you this… I tell you my plans because I know you will never kill your love, you will do everything to save her from me.. but I will keep her. I will blast the atmosphere if this world with the mind control drug, nishta… I will have the version of you in this time frame bow down to me. She will be my queen, and… and Buffy Summers will be my First Prime. And then I will personally kill those you call SG-1. All because you choose to save a soul."

"I… I will…" said a still surprised Tara.

"You will do nothing" sneered Anubis, "you will do nothing… because your feelings for this host is too strong. You will not tell her when you return, nor will you tell your superiors. You are weak, Tara Maclay… even without the inhibitor that is nullifying your power, as well as Buffy Summers… you are, and have always been weak. "

"Tara?"

"I am coming, Tara Maclay" said a grinning Anubis, "the only way you have to defeat me, is to kill this host."

"Tara!?"

"No" said Tara.

"Tara" said Willow as she was shaking the blonde who was lying on their bed. The redhead was sleeping when Tara started to shake, and then she started rolling in her sleep while everything in the room started to levitate, and then the room started to shake while Tara talked in her sleep, "Tara.. wake up… Tara.."

"Willow! No!" shouted Tara as she snapped her eyes wide open. Her first sight being Willow looking at her with a concern look on her face, however, immediately upon seeing Willow's face, the blonde witch mumbled a spell that pushed the redhead off the bed, sending her flying onto a wall across the bed. Willow hit the wall hard before she found herself getting smashed through a table. She heard a sickening crack, and a pain at the back of her head before everything went dark.

Tara saw what she did and immediately got off the bed and ran towards Willow who lay on the pieces of the table that Tara's spell smashed her through.

"Willow?" asked Tara as panic set in while she got onto her knees. The redhead's eyes wide open as they stared at the ceiling, "Willow?"

Tara saw that Willow's chest wasn't moving as she leaned forward with her hands over her mouth, "Willow? baby? Willow, please.. please answer me."

Tara could see that the carpet underneath the redhead was being covered by red liquid as the blonde witch started sobbing.

"Willow? Willow?" cried Tara as she cradled Willow's upper body onto her arms, "Willow? Please… this isn't funny… Willow?"

Tara felt something warm and wet on her arm that lay right under the back of Willow's head. Her eyes wide at the sight of the blood when she brought her arm into the light of the nightlight in the corner of the room. She leaned forward sobbing as she brought Willow's body to her chest, and then let out a loud scream, as well as a burst of magical energy that shattered every window in her apartment building, as well as set off every car alarm outside.

"Forgive me, Willow" whispered Tara as she continued sobbing, "forgive me. Please, forgive me."

TBC.

 


	61. Chapter 61

**Willow and Tara's Apartment, 0300 hours.**

It was hours after Joyce had left the SGC that Willow and Tara were in bed together sleeping. The redhead could feel Tara's soft breath on her naked shoulder as the blonde wrapped one hand over the redhead's waist, while the other hand was under her own pillow. Willow slowly opened her eyes and looked into the darkness, there were ideas swimming in her mind; so many ideas that she sometimes just had to stop and sort things out. Sometimes, her thoughts would be so loud that she'd wake up from her sleep, work on her laptop for some time, and then go back to sleep with Tara being none the wiser. Willow looked down at Tara's arm that was wrapped around her naked waist and brushed her fingers on the arm. The redhead knew that her girlfriend was a deep sleeper, so she brought her hand up to her lips, kissed the top and then removed the blanket that covered her and got off the bed. She then reached down and picked up the pair of shorts, and a knee length shirt, that Tara threw onto the floor after they each took off each other clothes the previous night.

After putting on her shirt again, Willow looked back and smiled at Tara before fixing the blanket over the blonde so that she stayed warm. The redhead then bent down and kissed her on the forehead before quietly opening the door, and walking out into the hallway after taking her laptop from the table near the door. Closing the door behind her, Willow then turned on the lights in the living room; attached the power source to the laptop and then turned it on before she went to the fridge and grabbed a cup of apple juice. She then sat cross-legged on one of the chairs at the table and started to work. She was attached to the team that was going to be designing and building the successor to the Prometheus, Earth's first interstellar battle cruiser. She and the team would be working under Major Carter on the new ship that was just in the planning stages. Willow was part of the team that would be designing the sublight engines, and she was of a handful that was designing the overall aesthetics of the ship.

Willow had a design in mind that was sleeker than the boxy Prometheus; however she wasn't the only one. Major Carter wanted multiple designs, and then the Pentagon would choose a design - or a mixture of designs that would reflect the still unnamed project. Taking a sip of her juice, Willow looked at the clock and aimed to get as much done as she could in two hours before she headed back to bed with Tara. She then connected her laptop to the SGC's secure servers and began work.

It was nearly an hour later, at around four in the morning, when Willow got up from her seat and stretched her arms over her head while yawning. She then headed back into the kitchen and poured herself another cup of juice. While she was pouring the juice, she never noticed the interference on her laptop screen as the design she was working on fizzled on the screen before steadying itself again. Walking back to her seat, the redhead sat down and started work on the part of the engine she had been working on for the past hour, the second generation of sub-light engines, of which only a very, very small area was done. Willow then looked on confused as the image on the screen fizzled out, before normalizing again. She quickly tried to save her work by using the shortcut keys but it was then that she heard a buzzing sound coming from the laptop. Opening her eyes wide as she realized what was happening, Willow quickly got up from the seat and hurriedly stepped back while covering her eyes as sparks started to erupt from the laptop itself accompanied by popping sounds. She quickly dashed around the table, still covering her eyes as the sparks landed on her hand and pulled out the power plug before she ran and ducked the other way towards the living room. However, all that happened was the sparking stopped, and smoke started to come out from the device. Getting up slowly off the floor, Willow rushed into the kitchen and took out the fire extinguisher before activating it over the smouldering laptop.

"Tara!" said Willow as she looked at the white covered laptop, "we need to…"

It was then that Willow felt a tremble going through the floor as she turned and saw the glass windows vibrating, as well as some of the smaller knick-knacks, pictures, and pillows floating. She then heard muffled sounds coming from their room as Willow rushed back.

"Tara!" shouted Willow as she opened the door to their room and looked on in shock at Tara moving her body and her head from side to side as if she was having a nightmare. What surprised the redhead even more were the various objects that were floating and moving around by themselves. They floating objects caused Willow to duck so that she did not get hit by any of them.

"Willow" whispered Tara a she continued to roughly move around on the bed while Willow carefully headed towards her, "Willow.. Willow.. baby? Willow, please.. answer me."

"Tara" said Willow as she reached the bed, and got up only to be hit on the side of her head by a music box that pushed her back onto the floor with a thud. Grabbing the side of her face as she grimaced in pain, she crouched low before carefully crawling up the bed with the objects in the air whizzing over her head faster, and faster, "Tara, you're dreaming."

Willow reached Tara while lying low on her stomach, and her feet hanging off the edge of the bed while she tried to shake Tara awake.

"Willow? Willow? Please.. this isn't funny.. Willow?"

"Tara" said a worried Willow as she put her arms around the blonde to comfort her, "Tara, baby… I need you to wake up. Come on, sweetie… it's just a nightmare."

"Forgive me, Willow" said Tara as Willow held to her tightly, "forgive me, please forgive me."

"Tara, honey" said Willow as she placed her hand on Tara's cheek, "wake up, baby… come on, wake up."

"I'm so sorry, Willow" said Tara as her voice broke while she moved her head from one side to another as her body stopped moving while Willow held on tight, "I'm so sorry."

"Tara" whispered Willow into her ear, "I'm here… you're having a nightmare. You're safe in my arms, come back to me."

It was then that everything that was floating fell back onto Earth as Willow covered Tara with her body as a few objects fell onto the redhead's back before rolling onto the bed. Willow then saw Tara slowly open her eyes as she looked at her before they were filled with tears.

"Willow" said Tara as she sobbed while the redhead held onto her, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Shhh" whispered Willow as Tara wrapped her arms around the redhead's back and sobbed uncontrollably.

It was soon after Tara stopped sobbing and shaking that Willow turned on the lights in the room and helped her girlfriend sit up. She then wrapped the blanket around Tara before looking around at all the items that had fallen on the floor and on the bed. Willow then kneeled in front of Tara and held the blonde's hands in hers and asked her what happened. Willow listened surprised at Tara talked to her that she may be seen the future.

"The future?" asked Willow.

"Or a possible future.. or…." Said Tara as she wiped her eyes while avoiding looking at Willow, "I.. I don't know… I…."

"You can tell me, Tara" said Willow.

"You... you can't tell" said Tara shaking her head, "you can't tell because… because I'm afraid of what you'll do… what…"

"Tara" said Willow, "you called my name. You said you were sorry and that I should forgive you. What did you see? Does something happen to me? Or…."

"You… you get taken over by Anubis" said Tara as Willow opened her eyes wide in shock, "you get taken over and…. and you lead an assault on Earth. People died and… Willow, you can't tell the others… you can't….. you need to…."

"Baby" said Willow as she placed both hands on either side of Tara's face gently, "I'm not…."

"Buffy was there" said Tara, nearly in hysterics, "she told me to kill you.. that.. that it had gotten so bad that to prevent it I had to kill you."

"Tara" said Willow gently, "everything you told me about whatever you saw has changed. If it was, or will be, the future; you telling me.. telling the SGC what you saw will change things. We can get ready, or I can prevent it somehow or…"

"Someone broke into my mind" said Tara as Willow looked on even more surprised than before. She knew that Tara was powerful, so powerful that she erected magical barriers around her mind to prevent mind control, or anyone from learning her secrets. She created barriers around the minds of SG-1 as well to prevent the extraction of information after what happened with Jonas when Anubis extracted information from his mind. But Willow knew that for Tara's defences to fail was a big deal, that whoever it was could be more magically powerful than the blonde witch, "she… told me… I never saw her face but she told me…"

"What did she tell you?"

"He's coming" said Tara, "and that there will be two choices; save the soul by allowing the vessel to die, or leave the soul in everlasting torment by allowing the vessel to live. Willow, I… I think she was referring to Anubis and… and you were the vessel… I. I don't know what to do."

"Tara" said Willow, "you…."

"I killed you" said Tara as tears started to flow from her eyes again, "I thought I was out of that nightmare where you were Anubis. I.. I woke up.. and… and… oh goddess… I saw you and I killed you… Willow… Willow I killed you. You had a wound on your head… I smelt the blood.. I could feel it… it was warm and… and I killed you, Will."

"I'm here, sweetie" said Willow gently as she looked at her girlfriend crying before the redhead pulled her into a hug, "I'm real. This isn't a dream, baby. We.. We'll find a way to deal with this. I promise."

Tara could only nod her head on Willow's shoulder as she continued to cry. Willow stayed up with Tara until five in the morning which was when the blonde witch cried herself to sleep. The redhead, once Tara was asleep, gently pushed her down before lying next to her. She placed their forehead together as they lay face to face, with Willow looking at her sleeping girlfriend. The redhead then kissed the top of Tara's nose before she held on tight to the blonde witch, and closed her eyes.

The two of them then woke up a few hours later, with Tara opening her eyes to find a sleeping redhead next to her. She caressed Willow's cheek as she imagined her dead body in her arms before she closed her eyes again, wiped the tears that were already gathering and then looked at Willow again. She watched as Willow breathed in, and out, and repeated the same motion while she just looked at her.

"Will?" said Tara softly as the redhead stirred, before scrunching her face; an act that Tara thought was extremely cute, and then opening her eyes slowly, "I'm sorry about this morning."

"Nothing to be sorry about, baby" said Willow as she got closer to Tara who lay on her back so that Willow could place her head in the blonde woman's chest, "Mrs. Summers is coming today, we're all meeting her at the airport before we leave for Sunnydale. How about we tell General Hammond and the others tomorrow?"

"Will" said Tara as the redhead looked up at her from where she was lying, "maybe we shouldn't tell… I mean.. I.. I don't know. Anubis said that I'll never tell you, or anyone and the woman told me that…"

"That woman" asked Willow, "did you see what she looked like?"

"I didn't see her face" said Tara, "I just saw her from the back, she was wearing some cloak and hood that were mainly white in colour, and the edges had gold… but.. oh… I thought I saw red hair. It was weird."

"Not evil?"

"Didn't seem evil" said Tara, "but strong enough to break into my defences."

"We'll talk to the others tomorrow, Tara" said Willow, "today we just, relax? We're going to Sunnydale and…"

"I killed you" said Tara, "the memory's so fresh that…. It's like it really happened."

"I'm alive, Tara" said Willow as she climbed over Tara and kissed her deeply before pulling back, "or I could be one hell of a hot zombie."

"Not funny" said Tara as she looked up at Willow, "and if you a zombie, I'd be your zombie master."

"Yes, master." Said Willow.

"Mistress" smirked Tara.

"Fine" said Willow, "but I'll call you that if I ever become a zombie, and since I'm obviously not a zombie, that means that I'm alive. Of course if you want to test me, we have a few hours before Mrs. Summers and the others meet us at the airport."

Willow leaned in again and kissed Tara while the blonde's hands were around the redhead's back as they roved all over. Willow then pulled back again and told Tara that she was alive, that this wasn't a dream.

Tara just nodded her head before they kissed each other again. A few minutes later, Willow picked up some of the fallen items on the floor and on the bed while Tara headed to the shower. Then once everything was where it was supposed to be, Willow's face remained serious for a few seconds as she imagined herself as Anubis taking over the planet. She couldn't imagine doing what Tara said Anubis did in her body, and after the blonde witch told her that Anubis used her own powers against her friends. Willow had an idea that could help, that would prevent Anubis from using her powers if Anubis ever took over her body.

'I can ask Tara to bind my ability to use magic' thought Willow to herself, 'that's the only way. A powerful binding spell to prevent me from ever using magic again. I don't use it now anyway, but…. but to prevent Anubis from knowing what I know? I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'll talk to Tara tomorrow; today's a day of celebration.'

Willow then looked at the glass windows around their room as she remembered the one in the living room vibrating.

'It was luck that no windows broke' thought Willow to herself, 'that dream affected Tara badly. I never saw her like that. We definitely need to talk to the others tomorrow.'

Willow then shook her head before heading into the shower to join Tara. Even in the shower, the redhead continued to comfort Tara, telling her that everything would eventually be alright.

**Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale, 1430 hours.**

Dawn was standing behind a canvas as she looked at the bowl of fruit in the center of the room, and then at the other students in her art class. She then looked back at the fruits again, before looking at her canvas and what she already painted.

"I hate this class" whispered Dawn as she brought her paint brush up. She then looked at her classmate, Alicia, and leaned sideways to look at what she painted, "neat."

"Not really" she whispered as Dawn went back to look at the thing that didn't look at all like a banana while she leaned towards the brunette, "but you know what? I wish we'd have one of the senior boys model for us… you know… like in the movies?"

"That guy who plays basketball?" whispered Dawn as she looked at Alicia who nodded her head excitedly.

It was then that the teacher noticed the two of them whispering as she walked over to them and asked them to keep quiet, or else she'll send them to the principal's officer.

"Sorry, Mrs. Grouse" said the two young ladies while some of the other student's sniggered.

"Mrs. Grouch" whispered Alicia while Dawn grinned after the older lady walked over to the other side of the room, "and you know what?"

"What?" asked Dawn.

"I don't mind if the new principal modelled" said Alicia as Dawn covered her mouth, hiding a laugh that was threatening to come out.

"He is hot" whispered Dawn after making sure that there was no-one to hear her, "I don't mind if he… you know…"

"But too bad he's taken" whispered the blonde young girl, "or else he'd have waited for me until I entered college."

Dawn just looked at her friend who grinned, before the young brunette put her finger into her own mouth and pretended to gag.

"I don't think I have that reaction when he and I are together" said Alicia as Dawn nearly dropped her paint brush while Alicia laughed at Dawn's reaction to her statement.

"Miss Summers! Miss Connors!" said the teacher as she looked at them from the other side of the room, "do you have something to share with the class? Or would you rather share it with the principal?"

"Sorry" said Dawn and Alicia together just as the new principal of Sunnydale High, Robin Wood, knocked on the door and entered the classroom. He looked at the students, and then at Mrs. Grouse before telling her that he needed to see Dawn; that she needed to gather her materials and come with him. Confused about what was going on, and pretty sure that he couldn't have heard anything that she or Alicia were discussing, Dawn packed her bag and waved at Alicia before heading out with Robin. The brunette looked at the clock before leaving and saw that there was only thirty minutes left before school was done, and then she and Faith would be spending the day watching movies, drinking shakes, and just generally laying about doing nothing; just enjoying each other's company. As she walked quietly next to Robin, Dawn remembered what happened the last time the principal had come in to get her out of class. That time though, the Principal - Robin's predecessor - arrived with both Faith and Buffy. The Principal then walked to one side as both of her sister's told her that Joyce had died. She remembered her knees buckling as Buffy and Faith reached for her and went down onto the floor as the young woman sobbed in the hallway.

"Mr. Wood?" asked Dawn as she looked at the bald, dark skinned man as he led her to the main entrance of the school, "what's going on?"

"You've got the rest of the day off, Miss Summers" said Robin as he nodded towards the glass doors. Looking outside, she could see Willow, Buffy and Tara standing as the wind gently blew through their hair. However, it was the baby that Buffy was holding that made her worried.

'She got pregnant?' thought Dawn to herself, 'or did Willow and Tara adopt a baby?'

"Go on, Miss Summers" said Robin as Dawn continued to look outside while nodding her head, "I'll see you back here the day after tomorrow."

"Huh?" asked Dawn as he looked at Robin confused as he explained that he was asked to let her have a pass for tomorrow by Buffy, that she'll take responsibility for Dawn tomorrow since there was a family emergency.

"Family emergency?" asked Dawn as Robin shrugged his shoulders before telling Dawn to go ahead, that he expects her back the day after tomorrow, "ummm…. yeah.. sure."

A confused Dawn opens the doors to the school and walked out as Willow and Tara waved at her, and Buffy pointed the baby towards her, lifted one of the toddler's arms and waved at her.

"Willow, Tara" said Dawn as she ran up to them and hugged the both of them, while at the same time noticing a bruise on the side of Willow's face. She wanted to say something, but just seeing them here brought even more important questions, "what are you guys doing here? Bored of going through the Stargate? And what happened to Willow's face?"

"Can't I visit my virtual chess partner?" asked Willow as she kissed Dawn's forehead, "and the other thing, well… it's a long story."

"Dawnie" said Tara who kissed her forehead as well before she stepped aside as Buffy walked towards her with the baby who was jumping up and down in her arms while flailing his hands at Dawn.

"Buffy" smiled Dawn as she kissed her sister while the baby put his hands on her cheeks and laughed. She then stepped back and pinched the baby's cheeks before asking Tara and Willow if they adopted him."

"No" said Willow and Tara together.

"His name is Jay" said Buffy, "come on, there's a surprise."

"You got a baby daddy don't you" said Dawn as Willow and Tara laughed at Buffy's expression.

"Just get in the car" said Buffy as she narrowed her eyes at Dawn. It was then that Daniel, who was in the driver's seat, told them it was time to go.

"You'll find out the surprise when we get home" said Buffy.

"Whatever it is" said Dawn as she pinched the laughing boy's cheeks before looking inside the car and waving excitedly at Daniel, "I'm sitting next to Dr. Jackson… hello!"

Buffy could only roll her eyes as Dawn rushed past Willow and Tara and got into the car. She then looked at her baby brother and whispered that he just met his sister.

"Your crazy, sister."

**The Summers Residence, five minutes later.**

While Daniel and the others had taken one of the two cars they rented from the airport to pick up Dawn; Joyce, Major Carter, Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill had taken the other car and drove all the way to Joyce's house. Willow called Cordelia before they left for Sunnydale and told her that they were coming down to Sunnydale, and if they were free for a get together later that night. When she said that she and the others were free, and that Faith was having a day off with Dawn, Willow thanked her before telling Cordelia that she'll call once they've reached Sunnydale.

Now, as Joyce walked up the pathway that led up to the front porch. She felt an excited energy going through her as she slowly realized that her children had all grown up. Buffy was ready to start a career, Dawn was doing well in school, and Faith had seemed to settle down into her role as the senior Slayer and Dawn's guardian, and sister.

Walking up the stairs, and followed by the remaining members of SG-1, Joyce walked up to the door and knocked.

"Dawn?!" shouted Faith from the other side as Joyce heard running footsteps that rushed past the door, and then up the stairs as Joyce looked back at Colonel O'Neill and the others confused, and then back at the door, "you're early… wait… don't come in… hold on…. Gimme a few seconds."

"Is this a ritual of some sort, Joyce Summers?" asked Teal'c as Joyce was prepared to knock again when Faith shouted again, this time from the top of the stairs.

"Alright!" said Faith, "now!"

Joyce walked into the foyer along with the others, only to cover her smile with her hand as she saw a hooded Faith holding a lightsaber in each hand.

"Ah, my Padawan" said Faith in a dramatic deep voice as Major Carter and the others just stared, "you have…."

"Neat, replica lightsabers" said the Colonel as a surprised Faith raised her head and took down her hood, and then saw the older blonde woman. Faith looked on in shock as she dropped both of the lightsabers onto the stairs and walked down on trembling feet as the replica devices tumbled down. When she reached the middle of the stairs, she couldn't take it anymore and stumbled back in shock until she was sitting on the stairs. Her eyes started to water, and her lips trembled, as Joyce rushed up and hugged her daughter.

"M…. mom" said Faith as she struggled for breath while trying her best not to cry, but failing as she buried her head in the older blonde's shoulder as she held on tight. Not wanting to let her go, "mom… mom… I… I saw…."

"I know, honey" said Joyce as her voice broke, "I'll explain everything when Buffy and Dawn get here… but.. it's me… I've missed you so much… and.. and I'm so proud of you."

"I missed you" said Faith as her body trembled when she broke down, "we missed you so much."

The two of them remained like that, with Faith holding on tight to Joyce while tears flowed down her face, for minutes while the both of them whispered to each other. It was soon that another car drove up to the house, and then Joyce pulled back and kissed Faith on her cheeks before wiping the dark haired Slayer's tears away. The both of them looked at each other while hearing Buffy telling Dawn from the driveway that there was a surprise in the house. They could heard her voice breaking as Nuffy told Dawn to run, that she'll understand why she was so happy.

The Colonel, Teal'c and the Major could only see a blur go past them followed by a loud scream and a thud as Dawn stood there in front of them with tears in her eyes and her hands over her mouth. The brunette's bag was on the floor as Dawn screamed again and ran up the stairs to hug Joyce.

Buffy, Willow, Tara and Daniel watched as the three of them hugged each other while Dawn was blubbering incoherently as Joyce listened while nodding her head and caressing the brunette's cheeks. She then kissed Dawn's forehead before Buffy walked towards them with the now quiet toddler who was looking at all of them with his finger hanging from his open mouth, and his eyes wide open.

"Faith, Dawnie" said Joyce as she sat on the stairs between them while Buffy walked towards them with the toddler, "I'd like for you to meet your baby brother, Jay."

TBC.

 


	62. Chapter 62

**The Summers Residence, 1440 hours.**

Dawn and Faith looked at each other with their eyes and mouth wide open, before looking at a smiling Joyce who was sitting in between the both of them who nodded her head. They then looked at the quiet baby who was looking at all of them with eyes wide open, the same baby that Buffy was carrying in her arms; their baby brother. The two young women were stunned to say the least after having two huge bombshells dropped on them, but it was Faith who reacted first by getting up and rushing down the stairs and was handed Jay by Buffy who then went up the stairs and hugged Joyce. Faith looked at the toddler in her arms as he was squirming. The dark haired Slayer then shed a tear before she laughed and brought in Jay for a hug. She gently caressed the hair on the toddler's head while she held him and kissed the top of his head, before taking in a whiff of his scent.

"Fresh baby smell" laughed Faith as she looked at Buffy who had her head on Joyce's shoulder.

Dawn, wanting to get into the action, quickly got up and ran down to Faith's side. The dark haired Slayer then gently handed Jay over to Dawn as she cradled the toddler who looked up at her while Faith walked up the stairs and sat next to Joyce.

"Hey" cooed Dawn as she looked at Jay who looked back up at the teenager while trying to grab her hair.

"Dawnie" said Willow as the brunette turned towards her, "don't let him grab your hair, he'll try to bite it and next thing you know… it's all slobbery."

"Aww" said Dawn as she looked back at Jay while walking up the stairs before sitting down one step lower than Joyce and the others, "did you bite onto Willow's hair?"

Faith smiled as the baby giggled before finally managing to grab a hold of Dawn's brown hair before putting it into his mouth and biting on it.

"See" said Willow as a laughing Buffy gently took the hair out of the toddler's mouth.

"How?" asked Faith as she looked at Joyce, and then at Buffy, Willow and the others, "how did you guys find her alive? How long have you known and… and how did Jay… I mean…"

"Easy.. easy" said Colonel O'Neill with his hands up, "first thing's first… where did you get those lightsabers? You know how long I've searched and…."

"Jack" said Daniel as he rolled his eyes.

"Ebay" said Faith, "now…. About Mrs…. I mean mom?"

Major Carter and Willow then told them about Loki, his cloning of Joyce, depositing her on Edina; it was then that Dawn interrupted the Major.

"Hold on a sec" said Dawn, "that the planet that that other Willow was talking about, right? Edina? The one that she asked Buffy and Willow to remember the name and that funny name? P….. something?"

"Yea" said Willow as she glanced at the others before looking at Dawn. She was still surprised at the things that Dawn knew about events that occurred, and were amazed at how thorough the monks were when they created her to house the Key. Willow remembered the day that she got the message from Captain Willow, and she knew it was definitely after the incident when Major Willow appeared in Buffy's living room. In fact, Willow could se it on the faces of all those who knew about it… including Faith; and their faces said the same thing.

'She wasn't there when the Major appeared in the living room.'

Shaking her head, Willow continued to say that Dawn was right. The planet they thought Major Willow was referring to was supposed to be a place to send Glory to, was instead the planet where they found Joyce. The Major then continued saying that Loki returned to make another clone, this time of the Colonel.

"Do you have another version of yourself running around?" asked Dawn as she looked at the older man.

"Uh huh" said the Colonel as he put his hands inside his pockets, "well, younger…"

"How young?" asked Faith.

"About fourteen" said Daniel as the Colonel groaned.

"Oh" said Faith as she looked at the Colonel again, 'that must have been real fun."

"I don't wanna talk about it" said the Colonel shaking his head as Faith laughed at his reaction.

"Is he going to be living with you?" asked Dawn excitedly while still holding on to JAy, "is he going to school somewhere or…"

"He's getting his own place" said the Colonel, "and his entering high school and…"

"Sweet" said Dawn, "must be cool to have a clone… knows everything you know, given a second chance and…. say, think you can give me him number and…"

"Dawn" said Faith, Buffy, Joyce and Willow while Daniel was trying to hide his smile while Tara and the Major where shaking their heads.

"Ummmm…. So, you three" said the Colonel as he tried to change the subject while Dawn was tickling the toddler in her arms, "you three will have to remember the cover story for Joyce's resurrection. And I'd feel it better if we tell everyone who needs to know all at once, and when I say everyone that needs to know… I mean the ones who know the truth about the SGC."

"How about the Potential Slayers?" asked Faith, "I mean I know they'll wanna see mom."

"And dad?" asked Dawn.

"They'll know the cover story" said Buffy as she leaned forward and played with Jay's small feet.

"OK" said Dawn, "but before they come, I wanna know about Jay… who… and how?"

"I'm sure you know how" said Buffy with a grin as Dawn narrowed her eyes at the blonde Slayer, "you see Dawnie, when a man and woman love each other, they…."

"Buffy" said everyone in the room while the Colonel, and the Major just said, "Cadet."

"Seriously though" said Faith as she looked at Jay, and then at Joyce, "what happened on Edina? We want to know and…. and…."

Faith noticed the look on Joyce's face as the blonde woman was looking at Buffy, Dawn, and then at faith. The dark haired Slayer knew that something was wrong even before she asked her adopted mother when she was moving back to stay with them.

"Faith?" asked Tara as she noticed the look on Faith's face.

"Ummm…." said Faith shaking her head, hoping that it was just her imagination. But she took a quick glance around and in the excitement of it all, she noticed that there was no luggage with them.. nothing to show that Joyce was planning on staying in Sunnydale for the foreseeable future. She noticed the baby bag that Teal'c was holding, and was hiding a laugh at the warrior holding the blue bag that had cartoon pictures all over it surface. Faith could tell it was only recently bought since it looked brand new, and she also noticed that no one had even begun to take out any bags that was in the car.. even if they hadn't brought any luggage into the house with them. Faith looked at Buffy, who looked back at her with slight sadness reflected in her eyes before the blonde Slayer looked away. To faith, it had all seemed like everything was running in slow motion when she discovered that it was highly likely that Joyce wasn't planning on staying in Sunnydale, or on Earth.

"Nothing, Tara" said Faith as she reached for Jay. As Dawn handed the toddler to Faith, the dark haired Slayer told Dawn to show Joyce the awards she received, and the reports on her straight A's, "I think mom would love to see them."

"Dawnie?" asked Joyce as she looked at the blushing Dawn who quickly got off the steps and pulled Joyce up the stairs before showing the older blonde her room.

Making sure that Dawn was out of earshot, Faith looked back at Jay before looking at Buffy, and then at the others.

"She's not staying here, is she?" asked Faith quietly as everyone looked at her surprised. Faith shrugged her shoulders as told them that some things were a bit off, especially since no one made a move to help Joyce settle down in the house once they got in, "few more things too… I see things just so you know. Nothing magic about it."

"Yea" said Buffy softly as Dawn ran out the door with Joyce laughing behind her as she was pulled to Faith's room, "she married a great guy… Jay's dad. They had him a few months ago and…."

"Have you seen him yet?" asked Faith softly as Buffy shook her head.

"She wants us to go see him together" said Buffy.

"Joyce Summers remains alive, Faith Lehane" said Teal'c.

"I know" replied Faith as she looked at Teal'c while Colonel O'Neill picked up the two lightsabers and pressed the buttons on both of them so that they lit up with a 'swoosh' sound.

"And now you know she's out there" said Colonel O'Neill as he swung the replica lightsaber while Faith nodded her head.

"We gave her a way to contact us" said Willow as Faith and Buffy looked at her, "she can come by whenever she wants but…. but we'll let Mrs. Summers let you know."

"I better call Giles, Xan-man, Anya and Cordy" said Faith as she handed the toddler off to Buffy, "tell them to come… well, I'll tell them it's a surprise."

"We'll go" said Buffy as she and faith walked over to the kitchen just as an excited Dawn got out of Faith's room. As they were heading back the stairs, Dawn showed her the new pictures the had hung on the wall, even the one they took a picture of the day before Joyce's clone dies… right before she left for her date. Joyce saw pictures of Faith and Dawn laughing, while there were other pictures of Giles, Xander and Anya as well hanging all over the place. Dawn pulled Joyce along past the smiling members of the SGC as she showed the blonde pictures of the times they spent Thanksgiving, and Christmas together.

"Now we're together" said Dawn as she jumped up and down, which made Joyce look back at Willow and the others, before looking at Dawn again. It was then that Tara, Willow and the others walked into the living room and told a stunned Dawn the truth.

"Wait… wait…" said Dawn as she put her hands up while looking at Joyce as she teared up, "you're telling me that you're not staying at home? Not in Sunnydale? I need you… I… Buffy needs you.. Faith needs you and…. and…."

"Sweetie" said Joyce gently as she took Dawn into a tight hug, "what you showed me upstairs… and I mean everything; it all shows me how happy you are. And.. and it's not like I'll be gone forever, and…"

"We can only see you for three months" said Dawn softly as she held on to Joyce, "it's not fair."

It was then that Buffy and Faith walked back into the living room to find Dawn and Joyce in a hug with the brunette crying on Joyce's shoulder. It was then that Buffy and Faith looked at each other, silently telling themselves that Dawn already knew the truth.

"Dawnie" said Buffy as she walked towards them with Jay in her arms, "mom told me about her decision and…"

"You knew?" asked Dawn before she looked at Faith, "Faith?"

"I just guessed" said Faith as she walked towards them, "whatever reason mom has to stay on Edina…."

"She'll be here for only three months" said Dawn as she wiped her tears while looking at her siblings.

"Mrs. Summers" said Colonel O'Neill, "maybe it would help to take a seat. Then we could talk."

"I called the others" said Faith, "they'll be here in an hour."

Joyce and Dawn then took a seat on the arm chair with Dawn sitting on the blonde's lap, while the others took their own seats as Joyce told them the story about how she met Jayden, and the part he played in her getting used to Edina… and then for her future. Once Joyce finished telling Faith and Dawn why she couldn't stay on Earth; that it wouldn't be fair to Jayden to take him out of his own home and bring him to Earth. He also told them that he had responsibilities on Edina, as did she… and that she didn't want to make it seem as if she was just with him for the sake of being with him. She told the girls that she loved them all, but that she also loved Jay and Jayden, and her life on Edina.

"And it's not like I'm leaving forever" said Joyce, "I'll be coming to visit, and… and I want Jay here to know his sisters. I… We… if you want to meet Jayden and…"

"Yes" said Faith as Buffy nodded her head.

"Dawnie?" asked Joyce as she looked at the brunette who was looking at the carpet, "he wants to meet all of you, but…. but it's up to you. He always asked me to tell stories about you three and… and when we had Jayden, he told me that he wished his son would know his sisters. And now he will. Why don't the three of you visit me on Edina? It shouldn't be that much of a problem if it's on the weekend, right? Jack?"

"I know we have a mission coming up in the weekend" said Colonel O'Neill, "but I don't see a problem if Cadet Summers, Dawn and Faith… along with Tara and an SG team accompanying them visit Edina for a few days. I can clear it with Hammond and I'll let you know."

"Dawnie?" asked Joyce as the brunette looked at her while wiping her eyes, "what do you say? Wanna see Edina? You'll see that I'm happy… just like you are happy with Faith. I saw the pictures, you two… I love them all."

"You're living a happy life, Dawnie" continued Joyce gently, "and I'm still here… just a step away through a blue puddle of water."

"Technically it's a wormhole" said Dawn softly as she gave Joyce a small smile.

"What do you know" grinned Joyce, "I forgot about that."

"Hey" said Faith as she clapped her hands together before turning towards Buffy, "you and me… car… now…"

"Huh?" said Buffy.

"We are going shopping for supplies" said Faith, "how long do you have, B?"

"Cadet Summers… Buffy, needs to leave tomorrow morning" said Major Carter as she looked at Buffy, "sorry, but you've got classes and…. look, for the weekends… if you want go with Faith and Dawn to Edina, we can get you a pass for Saturday and Sunday. But with classes tomorrow…"

"It's fine, ma'am" said Buffy, "I've got today with my sisters, brother and mother. What else could I ask for?"

"How about an apple pie, and a chocolate cheesecake?" asked Faith as Joyce and the others looked back at her. The living room was so silent that anyone could hear Colonel O'Neill drooling at the mention of the baked goods, "what? You think I'm not gonna show my mom, and my baby brother, that I was taught to be a kickass baker? I mean… let's not mince words here, I'm still a kickass Slayer.. who doubles as kickass baker and…"

"Bull" said Buffy while she coughed as Daniel could only grin while Faith looked at the blonde with narrowed eyes; all the while Jay was laughing.

"See, even Jay wants some of my cake" said Faith, "come on, B… let's go."

"Fine" said Buffy as she rolled up her eyes before handing Jay to Joyce. The both of them then started arguing about who had the most kills throughout their Slayer career while they left through the door. Once the door was shut again, the Major looked at the Colonel and looked the man that he was still drooling. Smiling as he wiped it off, the Major then turned back to Joyce and told her that Daniel, Teal'c, Willow and Tara will remain until tomorrow evening which was when a flight was scheduled for them, and that in the meantime, they should have some fun.

"Oh Dawn" said Faith as she opened the door and peeked her head through, "you still owe me a battle, we were interrupted."

All Dawn could do was stick her tongue out at Faith who laughed before closing the door again. The brunette then looked at the confused looks on everyone and told them that it was a tradition. That every day after school, or after Faith finished her job at the IPR… they would do something crazy. Sometimes it was cosplay like what was supposed to happen after she got back from school, or sometimes they'd just spend some time playing board games with Xander and Anya.

"Sometimes Faith would just stay with me until I fell asleep" said Dawn, "of course she'd play pranks on me, and I'd hit back even harder but… but we have fun."

"That's why I know I don't have to stay, honey" said Joyce as she looked at Dawn, "I'm still out there if you need me, but here in Sunnydale? You've got Faith with you, and from what I've seen.. she's done great."

"She has" said Dawn as she wiped her eyes before hugging Joyce tightly.

It was nearly an hour later that Buffy and Faith returned with bags. While Faith and Buffy, with Faith leading, got started on the pie and cake…. There was another knock on the door. Nodding at Joyce who stood up, along with Willow and the others, dawn got up and rushed to the front door. She could hear Giles' voice on the other side talking to Xander, Anya, Cordelia, and even Major Daniels before she opened the door excitedly.

"Dawn" said Giles as he looked at the grinning brunette, "we received your message and…. oh dear lord."

Dawn immediately stepped aside and motioned at Joyce who was holding on to Jay as a shocked Giles, followed by an equally shocked Anya, Xander, Cordelia and Major Daniels walked in and closed the door behind them. Major Daniels looked at the blonde woman, and then at Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter and immediately knew what was going on; he just didn't know how.

"Stargate, sir?" asked the Major as he looked at Colonel O'Neill who nodded his head.

"Hey G-Man" said Faith as she walked into the living room, followed by Buffy, "guess who came back from a planet far, far, far, far, far… so far away."

"No way" said Xander as he pushed through and hugged Joyce, "welcome back, Mrs. S… from wherever you were."

"Thank you, Xander" said Joyce as Xander stepped back, which was when he noticed the toddler who was looking back at him with his eyes wide open.

"And who's this?" asked Xander as Joyce handed Jay to him as Giles gave the woman a hug, followed by a still stunned but ecstatic Anya and Cordelia who hugged the older blonde tight before letting go so that Major Daniel's could put out his hand. Instead of a handshake, Joyce gave the man a hug. It was soon after that that Joyce told everyone her story, including that she was planning on staying on Edina… as well as the cover story that the others in the IPR were to be given so that she could meet with the girls, the Potential Slayers, she had known since the IPR was started.

"Yeah" said Major Daniels, "we can do that."

"Faith" said Colonel O'Neill, "you know what goes well with pie and cake?"

"What?" asked Faith.

"Grilling" said the man.

"There's a pit in the back" said Faith as Joyce turned and looked at her surprised before telling the Slayer that they didn't have a barbeque pit, "we do now, mom. Dawn's a killer."

"Dawnie?" asked Joyce with an eyebrow raised as she looked at her daughter.

"Uh huh" said Dawn excitedly, "but we don't have any…"

"Ok" said Colonel O'Neill, "Carter, Daniels, Faith, Red, and Tara with me… the rest of you are on beer and pop runs. Move it."

"We'll make tonight just for us" said Cordelia before the other left, "we can tell the IPR about Mrs. Summers' cover story tomorrow. And if Major Daniels agrees, I'll have some of the experienced IPR Response units conduct patrols around Sunnydale."

"Agreed" said the Major as Cordelia took out her phone and called the IPR. She looked at everyone while talking on the phone, and smiled at how happy Buffy, Faith and Dawn were since they got their mother back, even if she wasn't staying with them on Earth.

'Congrats, guys' thought Cordelia to herself as Giles picked up Jay from Anya who then quickly moved to Xander and wrapped her arm around his arm before whispering into his ear. Cordelia smiled at how Xander was blushing before she looked at the three girls again, 'I'm so happy for you.'

TBC.

 


	63. Chapter 63

**Buffy's Dorm Room, Air Force Academy, 1300 hours.**

Buffy had just arrived back to her room, a grin on her face as she closed the door behind her, and then placed her bags on her bed. She wanted to just up and down while, at the same time screaming, telling everyone in her dorm that her mother was alive. That she was taken by an alien, and now they had found her alive and well.

'Not just alive' thought Buffy to herself as she took off her shirt and trousers so that she could take a shower, and then head for her next class, 'she's married, she's happy, she has… we have a baby brother.'

Buffy smiled while recalling the previous night, that while Colonel O'Neill was handling the barbeque, and the cheesecake and the pie was baking.. they gently placed the toddler on the floor while she, Willow, Tara, Dawn and Faith sat around him. They were fussing over the toddler who looked up at them with eyes wide open as they were trying to decide who would be the best aunt, or sister.

'He must already think we're nuts' thought Buffy as she stepped into the shower. The warm water running down over her body, the blonde Slayer, noticed that even though Dawn was happy about having their mother back… she still had heavy sadness in her eyes. Buffy had taken Faith to one side and told the dark haired Slayer about her thoughts on Dawn.

"I know, B" said Faith as she was checking on the pie and cake while Joyce, and the others were in the kitchen, and in the living room. Faith then closed the ovens and stood next to Buffy before sitting in the island and told her that Dawn was probably upset that Joyce was leaving so early, "maybe seeing her on that planet, what was it… Edina?"

'Yeah" said Buffy a she looked down the hallway into the dining room before looking at Faith again.

"Maybe seeing that mom is happy there will make her happy too" said Faith, "there's vacations that she could spend on Edina with her and… well, that's some time that mom could use to get back closer with Dawn. Ya know?"

"Yeah" said Buffy.

Back in the shower, Buffy wiped herself dry before she got out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her body. Once she returned to her room, the blonde Slayer put on a fresh set of clothes before she picked up her bag and headed out of her room. She knew that now everything was going be different for her; she was already on track to graduate from the Academy, she was already on track to joining SG-1 and help battle Anubis, but where she thought that she would be doing all of that by herself.. without her mother by her side… it was now different. Her mother was alive… that was the only thought going through her mind as she gave a small grin walking down the hallway.

'Mom's alive' Buffy thought to herself, 'she's alive.'

**Briefing Room, SGC, the next day; 0900 hours.**

With Joyce and Jay having just left for Edina with the promise that Dawn and Faith would meet with them in the weekend two days from now, Willow and Tara looked at each other once the Stargate disengaged. The look that they shared were one of mixed feelings, one was of sadness especially of how Dawn was despondent when it came time for Joyce to leave for Colorado Springs. The young woman had to be comforted by both Faith, and Joyce, as they comforted the young woman. Willow, Tara and the others had already said their goodbye's and were waiting outside the Summers home so that the three of them could say goodbye, but that didn't mean that Tara couldn't feel Dawn and Faith's anguish. They knew that the Slayer had come to the realization that this was something that Joyce needed to do, that she couldn't just ask her husband on Edina to up and leave with her back to Earth.

Faith didn't like it, but she understood.

But the group also knew that Dawn, despite having grown under Faith's care, was still a child. She still wanted her mother in her life and, even the dark haired Slater did privately acknowledge this fact to Buffy before she left for the Academy again, Faith was no Joyce Summers.

"But I'll do everything I can for her, B" said Faith as Buffy nodded her head before hugging her sister before the blonde left for the Academy.

While the Summers clan was in the house by themselves, Joyce thanked Faith for everything she did and asked her to continue doing what she was doing; that she was a brave girl who had already embraced a new life.

"And with that new life" Joyce had told Faith while still holding on to Dawn who had her head on the older blonde's shoulder while tears still streamed from her eyes, "I want you…. well I noticed you're still using your old surname. IT.. it would be an honour if you could take mine."

"Mom" said Faith as she held Joyce's hands tightly, "I….."

"You are my daughter, sweetheart" said Joyce as she wiped the tears that were gathering at the sides of Faith's eyes, "you are a part of my family, and… and I'd love for you to legally become a Summers."

Faith closed her eyes, trying to prevent more tears from falling down her cheeks, while she nodded her head as Dawn kept both arms around Joyce's neck. Joyce brought both of Faith's hands to her lips and kissed them before looking at the teary eyed Slayer. Joyce then turned to the top of Dawn's head and leaned down and gave a kiss.

"Honey" said Joyce softly as Dawn sobbed while Faith walked up to her younger sister and placed both hands on her shoulders, "I know you'll be fine. You're such a brave girl, and.. and you've grown up so much."

"I still need you" said Dawn speaking through her sobs, "I need you here."

"I'm close by, Dawnie" said Joyce as she turned and placed both her hands on the brunette's cheeks wile wiping away tears with her thumbs, "I'm not dead, I'm right here. Think of it like me living in another country, a country where you can visit during your breaks. And it's not as if I'll never see you again, and… and looked at you. Faith's been so good for you.. and… and… and I miss you too. I'll always miss you not being with me. But…"

"But you can't force Jayden to leave" said Dawn softly as tears fell down Joyce's face as she nodded her head.

"I want you to meet him" said Joyce, "that's why you girls are going to be visiting me on Edina, so that you can see and I'm safe, that I'm happy. I want Jayden to know you three, and I want you girls to get to know him. I want Jay to know his sisters. Dawnie…. You, Buffy, and Faith… thinking about you three got me through three years on that world. I never thought I'd come back so I started to make a new life there. And… and now…. I have two homes. One on Edina, and one on Earth with you, Faith and Buffy. I'm just a hop and a skip away."

'The plane rides being the hop" said Faith as she looked at Dawn, and then at Joyce, "and the Stargate being the 'skip' part."

Back in the present, Willow remembered being called into the house with Jay as she watched the family say good bye once more. She heard Joyce telling Dawn that everything was going to be safe, and that they would see each other soon. Then once they were in the SUV, and driving back to the airport, Joyce broke down in the backseat while Tara gave the older blonde a hug with Willow holding on to Jay. As they walked away from the ramp, there was another emotion between the look that the two young women shared, one of worry; particularly on the dream that Tara had two nights back.

Willow and Tara asked Colonel O'Neill, and the others if they could have a quick meeting… that they felt it was important that they discussed a situation in private with General Hammond.

Nodding his head, the Colonel led everyone up the stairs in the control and into the briefing room. While standing and waiting in the briefing room as the Colonel walked into the General's office, Major Carter and Daniel asked Tara and Willow what was going on.

"It… I know this is strange" said Tara nervously, "but.. but I had a strange dream that.. that I think we need to talk about.

"A dream, Tara Maclay?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes" said Tara, "it… I was so real that…. That…."

"Her bedroom looked like a tornado hit it" said Willow, careful to not say that they actually shared the same bedroom.

"Yes" nodded Tara as she looked at Willow, gave her a small smile and then looked at the others, "it… it…."

"Lieutenant?" asked the General as Willow and Tara turned after Colonel O'Neill walked out of the office with the bald man, "Colonel O'Neill was telling me you have something you need to get off your chest?"

"Actually I… I do, General" said Tara as General Hammond motioned towards the briefing room table as they took a seat with Willow sitting next to Tara and Daniel on one side, and Major Carter, Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill on the opposite side of the table. General Hammond sat at the head of the table while asking Tara to continue.

"I.. I was telling Sam, Daniel and Teal'c that.. that I had a strange dream" said Tara, "everything was so real… I… I mean I could feel fear and, I could smell burned flesh and..."

"Huh?" asked the Major as she leaned forward.

"Tara?" asked Daniel while the Colonel looked on.

"Her dream was so strong" said Willow, "it… well, she was letting go of a lot of magical energy. It kinda blew up my laptop, shook the apartment, and… and then when I went to check on Tara? I saw the small objects in her room flying around all over the place."

Tara then pointed to the bruise on the side of Willow's face, and told the others that it was caused by a flying music box. Willow told the others that she was alright, and she managed to wake up Tara before anything major happened.

"But her dream… I.. I mean I can understand what happened in her room, what happened in the apartment.. she told me and I wouldn't be at all surprised if she was using her magic to protect herself."

"From?" asked the Colonel.

"From me" said Willow as she sat back while Tara looked at Willow in sadness before the blonde witch looked at the General who was looking back at her with his eyes wide open.

"Miss Maclay? Please explain."

Tara then told the shocked audience about Willow being taken over by Anubis, what Buffy told her in the dream, what Anubis had told her in the dream, and finally, what the mysterious red-haired woman told the witch in the dream. She then went on to tell the team that she thought she had woken up from the dream only to have Willow run after opening the door to Tara's room.

"In my fear" said Tara as she looked at Willow, and then back at the table again, "I lashed out and… and I killed her."

"She woke up after I woke her up, General" said the redhead as he nodded at Willow, and then turned back to Tara, "whatever she saw was bad."

"The SGC was in ruins" said Tara, "Anubis taking over Willow meant that he had access to all of her skills, including magic and… well, her hacking skills from what Buffy told me about her hacking through the codes even after they were changed. I saw people dead, Sam and a few others escaped… and… and yea… it was bad."

The General and the others then looked at Willow who was tapping her fingers on the table. She told the others that her counterpart hadn't mentioned this to her, or she wasn't sure what power that Anubis would be referring to.

"But given that I still have my magic" said Willow as she leaned forward, "I guess we can assume that he… well, used my ability to easily mould the magics."

"Tara" said Major Carter, "is there anything that can be done, I mean to prevent Anubis from accessing Willow's magic?"

Before Tara could answer, Willow looked at her girlfriend, before looking at the Major and telling her that there was a way; that it was the only way to prevent Anubis from using the redhead's ability to use magic.

"Willow" said Tara shaking her head, knowing what Willow meant, "that… that's taboo, and… and pain.. painful.. no…"

"Lieutenant? Miss Maclay?" asked the General as he looked at the redhead, and then at Tara, "what's taboo?"

"You're talking about cutting off who you are" said Tara as she looked at Willow, "I know I said that magic needs to be used responsibly, and I know you're not using it by choice and I… we are happy. But what you're talking about is…."

"Binding my magic" said Willow as the others looked at Willow, and then at Tara who had her eyes wide open, "binding my magic away so that I can't use it ever, and so that Anubis doesn't use it if.. and I mean if he ever does possess me. He'll just have good old plain-jane Willow."

"What happens if somehow you get your Ancient gene activated?" asked the Colonel as Willow and the Major shrugged their shoulders.

"Just because it gets activated, doesn't necessarily mean that she get's powers, sir" said the Major.

"You have it, Jack" said Daniel, "but… well…."

"Right" replied the Colonel while Tara looked at Willow who was avoiding looking into the blonde witch's eyes.

"Tara Maclay" said Teal'c, "what occurs when this binding is placed?"

"Magic is all around us" said Tara, "I could even feel it when going off-world, it's a bit alien… not like the magic here…. but I can still feel it. Anyone can be trained to use magic, even the most sceptical."

"Which means Carter can use it?" asked the Colonel as the Major looked at the man with an eyebrow raised, "just saying, Carter."

"Yes" Tara replied as the Major looked at her, and then at Willow who nodded her head, "with training, anyone at this table can perform magical feats to a certain degree. But from what Thor told us about those who have the Furling gene? It just comes easy. Like for myself, Willow, my mother, my grandmother, Amy… it bet the others have the gene as well since magic was so easy for us. Binding a person's ability to perform magic won't do anything to the gene.. at least I don't think so, but… but it feels like cutting off an arm. Even if it's an arm that you don't use."

Willow knew that last bit was reserved for her as she looked back down at the table. She knew that Tara didn't want to do this, but in her mind.. there wasn't any other choice.

"And like cutting off a real arm" said Tara as she nodded her head, "no.. more like hacking it off, it's extremely painful."

"Tara" said Willow, "you saw your dream… I end up attacking the SGC… I…"

"It was Anubis, Willow" said Daniel

"Anubis with the skills of Willow Rosenberg" said Teal'c while Willow nodded her head.

"Major" said the General as he looked at the blonde officer, "do we have anything that we could use to prevent the Lieutenant from using her magic? We'll keep the idea of binding her abilities as a last resort, even if it is what she prefers. I don't wish to put her in pain, if we could avoid it."

'I can try" said the Major before looking at Tara. She then asked the blonde witch if there were any spells that could temporarily prevent the a person from using magic.

"Confusion spell" said Tara, "that's the best thing I can think of, but… that's a spell that we can't use on ourselves. And it'll affect not just her ability to us magic, but even perform basic tasks."

"How about this?" asked Daniel, "how does magic work? I mean.. you say the spell, or do a ritual.. and then?"

"It's hard to explain" said Tara, "it just happens."

"Major?" asked the General.

"I'll find something, sir" said the Major before looking at Tara and Willow, and then at the General again, "but I'll need help."

"I'll help" said Tara.

"Me too" Willow said, "but… even if it's got to be a permanent fix, the way Tara described what happened… I'm scared."

Although no one at the table said it out loud, they all knew that if they were unsuccessful… and if it really did come down to it, then Willow's ability to use her magic would need to be bound.

Tara needed to find another way as she glanced at Willow, who looked back at her with worry and sadness in her eyes. She loved this woman, and the blonde knew that the redhead would be feeling what would amount to shadow pains for the rest of her life if Anubis wasn't stopped.

It would be a few months after Buffy joins the SGC officially that Tara, SG-1 and the blonde would be fighting Anubis in the SGC. And then, they would realize too late that even binding the redhead's powers would have no effect on the possible damage that Anubis would be able to carry out. But for now, Tara needed to find a way to prevent the binding ritual from taking place, she wanted to prevent the woman she loved from having to face that kind of a pain.

**Gateroom, SGC, a few days later.**

It was Faith's second airplane ride ever as she held on to the armrests of her seat tightly. She was sitting at the aisle seat while Dawn was talking excitedly about visiting Colorado Springs, visiting Joyce, and seeing Tara once again while Faith held her head back against the seat as the plane encountered turbulence while on its descent. On the way from Los Angeles, where the had to make a transfer onto a flight to Colorado Springs, Faith was nervous the whole way… even Dawn said that she'll be making fun of the tough Slayer.

"Of all things… of all the nightmarish things that you've faced" said Dawn as she giggled while Faith walked alongside the brunette with her hands in her pockets, "planes.. you're afraid of planes."

"Laugh it up, pipsqueak" said Faith at she narrowed her eyes at the brunette.

"Oh I will" said Dawn laughing, "maybe I'll tell Buffy, and mom, and…"

"If you tell anyone" said a laughing Faith as she put her arm across Dawn's shoulders before the smile on the Slayer's face vanished and she leaned in to whisper into her ear, "I swear I'll tell Buffy that you have a crush on the principal."

"I don't…." said Dawn as she started to blush.

"Ummmm" said Faith as she pulled Dawn close to her and grinned while walking, "so we have Daniel, you tried to find out about Jack's… ummmm… nephew, and now you have a crush on the Principal. Girl, you have got a lot of crushes."

"I'm a teenager" shrugged Dawn before she looked at Faith and stuck her tongue out at her, "I have the right to have multiple crushes. And just so you know, I still have a crush on Xander."

"And you still admit it" said Faith laughing as they arrived at the gate where they would be waiting for their flight to Colorado Springs.

Back to the present day, Faith grabbed the armrests tight while Dawn looked at her, smiled, and then placed her hand over the Slayer's as the plane finally landed on the runway. The brunette then told Faith that the landing and the take-off were the most dangerous parts of flying, and that they made it.

"You should be proud, Faith" said Dawn before sticking her tongue out at the dark haired Slayer.

It was then that Faith lightly punched Dawn who smiled back at her while the plane taxied to the gate. Once the plane had stopped, the two of them walked out with the other passengers towards the main lobby where they would be able to meet with their welcoming committee, and then grab their bags. It too ten minutes for the both of them to get a cup of coffee before continuing on before the finally saw the two people who were there to pick them up. Dawn was the one who jumped up and down before she dashed towards Buffy who gave her sister tight hug, before the brunette moved on to Tara.

"Hey B" said Faith as she nodded her head while a hand was in her pocket.

"faith" said Buffy as she returned her sister's nod, "welcome to the Springs."

"You do realize I've been here before, right?" asked Faith who was looking at Buffy while Tara walked over to the dark haired Slayer and gave her a hug.

"Glad you took a break" said Tara before she pulled back from Faith who was nodding her head. They then went and took their bags, before they headed out to Tara's car. Dawn asked Tara where Willow and the others were… if they went on a mission.

"Yep" replied Tara, "I'll be going with you guys to visit Mrs. Summers."

"Neat" said Dawn excitedly as they drove off towards the SGC.

TBC.

 


	64. Chapter 64

**Gateroom, SGC, 1500 hours.**

After Tara had gotten into the mountain with Buffy, Faith, and Dawn, she led them to General Hammond's office where the bald man asked the three young women to take a seat so that he could give them a quick briefing, before they were to get a medical check by Dr. Fraiser. In the meantime, Tara went to the locker room where she changed into a set of BDU's before putting her hair into a ponytail. The only one in the locker room at the time, the blonde witch then walked out and headed to the armoury. Inputting a code on the electronic lock, Tara opened the door and walked into the room surrounded by various weapons.

Ever since she requested to be a full time Gate traveller, she underwent extensive training.. just as Daniel had been when he first joined the program… just as any other civilian had been trained. It was because of that training, and the faith that others in the teams had in her to watch their back, that the blonde didn't stutter as much anymore.

'I still do with anyone new' thought Tara to herself as she picked up a sidearm and two magazines. Once she holstered her weapon, and put the magazines into her vest, she picked up a Zat and placed it in the left holster. She then looked at the P90's, and the M16's and other rifles and shook her head. During her trainings, she was able to shoot targets with a sidearm and a Zat, but when it came down to using a P90 or the other weapons… she would get nervous and miss her shots.

'I have another test in a few days' sighed Tara as she closed her eyes and took in a few deep breaths, 'Willow helped me, and it took everything I had not to…. Stop it, Tara… you need to pass the test. Pass, and then celebrate with Willow.'

Walking back out to the hallway after closing the door behind her, the blonde walked over to the infirmary where Dr. Fraiser was finishing up her medical check on the final girl of the Summers clan, Buffy.

Upon seeing Tara decked out in her gear, Faith whistled and waggled her eyebrows at the blonde young woman who raised an eyebrow. She then smiled at Faith before asking Dr. Fraiser if they were ready to leave.

"I'm done" said Dr. Frasier as he took off her gloves and took the three of them that they were completely healthy. Dr. Frasier then turned to Tara and told her that she wanted to come by her house for dinner with herself, and Cassie since Willow and SG-1 would be gone on a mission for another couple of days.

"Thank you, Janet" said Tara as she nodded her head, "I… I'd like that."

"You're not staying over, Tara?" asked Dawn as Tara turned to her and smiled.

"You've got a lot of time to spend with Mrs. Summers, Jay and Jayden" said Tara," I don't think you'd want me there. But I'll be coming by again tomorrow morning. I'm helping the team that's there with the medical stuff in Mrs. Summers' village while most of the team will go on to the next village and install solar chargers."

"Ok" said Dawn nodding her head.

Tara then turned to Dr. Fraiser and told her that they'll see each other later that night.

"Cassie said that she'll have the monopoly ready" said Dr. Frasier as Tara nodded her head before leaving out into the hallway. She glanced at the bags that the three of them were carrying before asking them if there was anything else they needed to bring along.

"Nope" said Faith, "change of clothes, and… other stuff.. al here."

"We're ready, Tara" said Buffy as Tara then led them to the elevator which they took down to the twenty eighth floor. As they were walking through the hallway, Tara looked back and Faith and asked her if this was the first time she was seeing the Stargate.

"Uh huh" she replied as they walked past several Airmen and soldiers before they walked into the Gateroom. There Tara looked back at the surprised look on Faith's face, before she then looked at the excited look on Dawn's face. Tara knew that Buffy, like Willow when she was still at the academy, was allowed to periodically go through the Stargate for research trips; so she wasn't that excited.. but the blonde witch could still see a hint of excitement at how her fate had changed. It was as the Gate was dialling that General Hammond walked down to the control room, and told Tara that the SG team on the other side was already notified to expect them.

Nodding her head, Tara then gave him the thumbs up sign while she walked over to the still slack jawed Faith who watched the inner track of the giant ring spinning. While Dawn was with Buffy, Tara explained to the dark haired Slayer on the basics of how the Stargate worked.

"Chevron Seven, locked" said Walter as Faith and Dawn both jumped back and laughed when the unstable vortex rushed out before settling back into the event horizon of the wormhole. Tara told Faith that the Stargate was now locked to the Edina Stargate, and all they had to do was take one step through the Gate, and they'll find themselves on Edina.

"Trust me, Dawnie" said Buffy as she and Dawn walked behind Tara, "you wont feel a single thing."

"Miss Maclay" said General Hammond as she turned around, "Major Thompson has already been informed that you and the Summers girls are on their way."

Tara just nodded her head before the General gave them the go ahead to walk through the Stargate.

**Air Force Academy, a few months later.**

Buffy had everything packed in her dorm room as she looked at herself in the mirror. She was making sure that her uniform was spotless as she waited for help to move the three boxes that were in her room, as well as the two suitcases of clothes. She put on her gloves and made sure that everything else on her uniform was as it should be when she heard a knock on the door. Smiling as her roommate, Jennifer Hailey, who was also standing at a mirror rushed to the door and opened it before smiling and stepping back into the room.

"Teal'c" said Hailey as the man gave the young woman a nod.

"Jennifer Hailey" said the man who first met the then cadet at a scientific outpost that was being attacked by glowing creatures, "are you well?"

"Yea" said Hailey as she motioned Teal'c, who was soon followed by Daniel, Tara and Cassie, into the room. Hailey had already met Daniel a few months after she left through the Stargate for the first time. It was then she knew that Buffy also knew about the Stargate since the both of them had been assigned to SG-12 so that they could watch over Daniel and his team while the examined some archaeological sites. Hailey remembered laughing out hard when she realized that until then, they each knew about the Stargate… but were unable to talk to each other about it.

Back in their dorm room, Daniel introduced Cassie to Hailey before asking the young woman if she needed help with her things.

"It's alright" said Hailey shaking her head, "my parents and boyfriend will be helping me move to my apartment after the ceremony. Thanks for the offer though, Dr. Jackson."

"Just call me Daniel."

It wasn't too long before Buffy's side of the room was empty, and Daniel told her that Willow and the others have already met with Joyce, Jayden and Jay; and that they're on their way.

Buffy nodded her head as she thought back to having met Jayden for the first time all those months ago. Tara had lead them down the trail to the home that they shared on Edina. The three sisters were surprised that while they left Earth in the afternoon, the came to Edina when the sun was just rising into the air. Tara told them that Edina was five hours behind Earth, as she nodded at the people who were walking into the fields to begin their day. Buffy remembered when Jayden opened the door and nervously looked at the three young women who were standing next to Tara before shaking his head, apologizing for his rudeness, and welcoming them into his home. Buffy remembered how nervous the man was, much more nervous than the. But it was Faith who broke the ice before Buffy and Dawn did, before Joyce came down the stairs smiling with a yawning Joy in her arms who, upon seeing his three sisters, smiled and reached out for them.

'Jayden made us breakfast' thought Buffy to herself before Daniel and Tara came by the door to her room and told them that it was almost time, that they would find seats, and then meet up after the ceremony was completed. Buffy nodded her head while recalling the older man showing them around the village, and even gave Buffy and Faith some time with him on the fields while Dawn was staying with Joyce before going with her to the school she opened. It wasn't long before the village learned that Joyce's daughters had come from Earth to visit their long lost mother, and it took everything Jayden had to keep the steady stream of young men in the village who were visiting his home away from Faith, Dawn and Buffy; an act that caused Buffy to smile. Eventually, later that night Jayden sat with the three of them and assured them that he loved Joyce very much and he hoped that they would give their blessing… even though he was already married to Joyce.

"As long as I get to visit" Dawn had said while Buffy smiled as she thought about the grin that was on the brunette's face while the blonde Slayer walked out of her dorm room with Hailey.

"Of course" Jayden had replied that day.

"Then I do" said Dawn as she sat up straight.

"So do we" said Buffy and Faith before they watched Jayden nod his head and smile.

Back in the present day, everything seemed surreal for Buffy as she, along with all the others who were graduating threw their caps into the air and cheered. Buffy then went to her classmates before heading off to find Joyce and the others at the designated place they selected to meet a few days ago. It was there that Buffy found Joyce, Dawn, Faith and the others who were waiting for her… including Hank Summers. Buffy hugged her biological father tight as she thanked him for coming, at the same time she remembered the first reaction Hank had when he was given the cover story in regards to Joyce.

'He was in disbelief' thought Buffy to herself when she called him the night that Joyce and Jay first met with Faith and Dawn a little more than five months ago, 'mom had to actually talk to him so that he'd believe her.'

Buffy and Faith was listened in to Joyce talking on the phone with Hank worried that there'd be shouting between them on why Joyce hadn't called. Instead, their conversation was very civil… and emotional. The both of them heard Joyce's voice break a few times as she talked about missing the girls, and then as she talked about not being able to see them again… or talk to them… or even talk to Hank. They overheard her saying that she met someone, and had married him. Expecting that Hank would have something to say, Buffy and Faith were smiling at each other when all Joyce said while the phone as glued onto her ear was 'Thank you.'

It was a two months later that Hank had been down to Sunnydale on business when he finally met with Joyce, and Jayden. He congratulated Jayden and later told him in private that Joyce was a wonderful woman, something that he discovered when it was too late.

Back in the present, all Hank could do was hug his daughter with tears in his eyes before whispering 'I love you' into Buffy's ear. The blonde Slayer nodded on the man's shoulder before looking back at him, and kissing his cheeks. Hank then told Buffy that the others were waiting for her and stepped aside as she went on to hug her other father; Giles… which was followed by Xander, Anya, Willow, Major Carter and the Colonel who were all in their uniforms, and then she screamed in happiness as she hugged Joyce, Tara, Dawn and Faith.

"Hey, guys" said Tara as she took out a camera upon seeing Buffy, Faith, Dawn and Willow together, "say cheese."

Noticing the camera, Faith put her arms around Willow's and Buffy's shoulders while the blonde Slayer put her arm around a grinning Dawn. Everyone laughed as the camera went off, and then they saw Tara smile as she looked at the picture.

"Hey, T" said Faith ass he ran to her side and looked at the picture that was just taken. The dark haired Slayer, who was just smiling, lost the smile on her face and then looked at Tara in shock while Buffy was now carrying Jay, who was laughing out loud, in her arms while she was spinning him around. Willow was smiling at Buffy when she noticed the look of surprise on Faith's face as she was standing next to Tara while looking at the camera.

Running over to where they were standing, Willow asked Faith if everything was alright. Faith then looked down at the shirt and jeans that she was wearing, and then at the picture again.

"I… I… had a dream about this picture" said Faith as Willow and Tara looked at each other, and then at Faith, "when I was in that coma. I had a dream where this picture was on my desk.. in my own room. It was exactly like this."

Willow just put her arm around Faith's shoulders while Buffy and the others were celebrating. Faith then shook her head and told Willow and Tara that it was just a surprise for her, that she never had those prophetic dreams that Buffy had.

"Maybe this is something that you hoped for" said Tara as Faith smiled.

"Yeah" she said as she looked at Buffy who looked back at her while a grin was plastered on her face, "it is.. that's what it is."

**U.C. Sunnydale, two days later, 1000 hours.**

Faith knew that for Buffy, graduating from the Academy was a very surreal experience, especially since that's exactly what she was feeling as she sat on a chair along with the other from the graduating class of that year. She looked over her shoulder and smiled when she saw an excited Joyce waving back at her from the one of the front row seats at the basketball stadium in the university. She also saw Giles, Willow, Dawn, Buffy, Jayden who was holding on to Jay while Joyce took pictures. Faith then looked back to the front and smiled when she saw the sign that Xander, Anya, Amy and Major Daniels was holding up in the air.

Faith turned and smiled as she looked at the stage before her row stood up. She could hear cheers and whistles coming from behind her as she looked at Dawn and the others.

'This is so weird' thought Faith to herself as she walked behind the other graduates to the stage, she kept on looking at Buffy and the others, and then she saw the wide smile on Joyce's face before looking at Amy who was sitting to the older blonde's right side. She still remembered the first time they met was at a counselling session; Faith was going to go talk to her counsellor, while Amy was required to talk to a counsellor that was sent by one of the Covens. It was a few days later that the both of them started talking, and slowly they discovered that the both of them were two broken people who were trying to pick up the pieces of their broken lives. Faith talked to her about her life before she came to Sunnydale, and Amy talk to her about how abuse her own mother was.. including stealing her own daughter's body.

Faith and Amy got closer over time, and eventually had their first official date a few years after Buffy left for graduation. However, Dawn didn't do them any favours since she'd be pushing them to make it official. Faith was the one who told Dawn that they were close friends, that neither one of them were ready to be more. It was six months before anyone knew that Joyce was still alive when Xander, Anya, Dawn and Amy had gone to the Bronze after work at the IPR to unwind.

As Faith looked at Amy who was clapping her hands while Joyce and the others cheered when she walked the stage, the dark haired Slayer remembered the time when Amy whispered into Faith's ear asking if she liked her.

"Because I really, really like you" said Amy as Faith smiled while Dawn took a picture; the same picture that was hanging on the wall of the Staircase. It was a few seconds later that Faith grabbed Amy's hand and told Xander, Anya and Dawn that they'll be right back. Faith led Amy out of the Bronze, and into a small dark alley close by where she grabbed Amy, placed her against the wall, and kissed her.

"That answer your question?" asked Faith breathlessly as she pulled back and looked into Amy's eyes. It was then that a concerned Dawn followed them out the club while Anya and Xander were following close by. Dawn was the one who saw the two young women with their arms around each other.

"It's about damn time" said Dawn with her arms folded across her chest as she smirked at Amy and Faith who suddenly jumped back. They told Dawn not to tell anyone, at least not until they were ready, "fine."

When Xander and Anya rushed out of the Bronze, they saw Amy, Faith, and Dawn walking back with grins on their faces.

"Hey" said Xander, "saw you leaving in a rush, vampire attack?"

"Just needed some air" said Amy.

Now, after throwing their caps into the air, Faith rushed up to where her friends were and jumped screaming with joy into Joyce's arms. The older blonde held on tight to the dark haired Slayer who only a few years ago was in a coma, and was someone everyone had written off. While she hugged Joyce tightly, Faith reached out with her hand and squeezed Amy's hand gently. Faith then pulled back as she felt a tap on her shoulder, turning around.. she found herself being hugged by Giles who had not only become her Watcher, but he also played a father figure to the young woman… just as he had been doing with Buffy.

Buffy, Willow, Major Daniels, and the others then gave their congratulations to the Slayer, as did Hank and Jayden. It was then that, wiping tears from her own face at the thought of her second daughter graduating from university, Joyce asked Willow to take a picture of herself and Faith before everyone joined in.

Faith stood closer to Joyce, who put an arm around the dark haired Slayer's shoulders. Willow, with Tara standing next to her, told Faith and Joyce to say cheese. It was then that the Slayer recalled the other picture that was in her dream… of her being nervous in a graduation gown. This time though, Faith lay her head on Joyce's shoulder and smiled for the camera.

That night was a graduation party for both Faith and Buffy at the Summers house. Joyce sat with Jayden after Hank told her, and the Summers girls that he had to leave for an emergency. Joyce had taken him to one side and thanked him for staying in contact with the girls, that Dawn had told her he would visit them every so often when he came through California on business every month. Hank had told Joyce that he was happy for her, and that he really did wish her well. Then just before leaving, Hank took Faith and Buffy to one side and told them that he was very proud of the both of them before he said his goodbyes to Dawn.

It would be a few weeks later that Buffy, and Willow would be faced with a near unstoppable engine of destruction; Anubis' latest weapon designed to take over the System Lords, and the galaxy.

TBC.

 


	65. Chapter 65

**Tara's and Willow's Room, a week after Buffy's graduation.**

It was soon after Buffy's return from her graduation break that Willow and Tara moved to a three bedroom apartment in the same apartment complex. Soon after signing the lease for the apartment, the three had their first argument; who would be taking the larger room with the larger closet space, and the built-in restroom. It was between Buffy's large wardrobe that was being moved from the Summers home in Sunnydale, and Willow and Tara's need to have fun in the mornings when they got up from bed.

Eventually, Buffy was the one who won out when she gave them permission to do what they wished anywhere in the apartment as long as it wasn't in her room, and as long as the two of them let her know beforehand.

"Oh" said Willow as she carried a box of Buffy's stuff while waggling her eyebrows, "trust me… you'll know."

"Ewww" said Buffy shaking her head, "ewww, ewww."

"You know" said Tara as she placed an elbow on Willow's shoulder and looked at Buffy before she leaned towards Buffy and spoke seductively, while at the same time trying not to laugh, "you could always join us; Faith has always wanted to…."

"No" said Buffy as she scrunched her face, "no, I'm not hearing any of this… la la la la la."

"We're kidding" said Willow as she gently kicked her best friend's shin before walking past her with the box while Tara giggled behind her. The blonde witch then placed an arm around Buffy, who was holding three boxes in her arms, and gently pushed her towards her room. It was a few minutes later that Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c arrived.. telling the three of them that Buffy's bed was in the back of his truck.

"Thanks, sir" said Buffy as she ran down the stairs with Teal'c to get her bed just as another car came up, and then parked next to the Colonel's truck. In the meantime, the Colonel was up in Willow's new apartment as Tara gave him a beer to drink while she and Willow drank some pop.

"Ahhhh" said the Colonel as he looked at the Guinness in his hand, and then at the two young women in front of him, "so, how're you liking this place?"

"It's got space, Jack" said Tara, "one room for Buffy, the other one for Willow…"

"I've got the smallest one, sir" said Willow with a pout, "that'll teach me to coin flip against a witch."

"A still practising witch" said Tara as she stuck her tongue out at Willow, before smiling at the Colonel, "I've got the medium sized room… the one that's just right."

"Ah" said the Colonel as he nodded his head.

Colonel O'Neill had been noticing things when Willow and Tara were together. At first he didn't think much of it, that it could be nothing since they really weren't on the same team. Willow was a part of SG-1, together with Buffy… but Tara was usually sent to low risk missions since her handling of the P90, and some of the other kinetic weapons was on the lower end of their ratings.

She was qualified to fire them, but only just.

During team nights, Willow would always bring Tara along with her… and the team didn't mind it one bit. The Colonel, Major Carter, Daniel and Teal'c had gotten to know the blonde very well since the time she had moved to Colorado Springs. He knew that Dr. Fraiser saw the blonde witch as her unofficial adopted daughter, and Cassie saw her as a sister.

Even when she was busy, Tara would always make time for Cassie.

Colonel O'Neill knew this, actually everyone knew that Tara was a special person. And when she was with Willow, the Colonel would notice the two of them being more open… and then there would be the occasional glance at each other before they'd look at the others. He had guessed things between them were more than met the eye, but he didn't want to say anything because it never affected any of their missions.

He didn't know if the others knew.

'Well I know Carter hasn't noticed' thought the Colonel as he looked at the smallest room before looking at Tara, and Willow, and then looking at Buffy moving the mattress through the front door with Teal'c's help.

"Ya know" said the Colonel as Buffy and Teal'c walked through the hallway into Buffy's room, "the two of you should use that room as a study."

"Huh?" asked Willow confused, "which one?"

"The smaller one" said the Colonel as Willow narrowed her eyes confused, "you know, put a small bed to the side, but the you can use it mainly a study. Tara could put her magic books, and Red could have her computer and… you know… science stuff in there."

"But.. that's where I sleep" said Willow as she looked wide eyed at the Colonel, and then at Tara, and then at the Colonel again. It was then that they heard Daniel, Major Carter, Cassie, and Dr. Fraiser coming up the stairs to their fifth floor apartment.

"Tell you what" said the Colonel as he leaned forward and whispered to Willow and Tara, "fifty bucks says that it'll take at least a year for Carter to find out about…. Well.. you know…. You two."

"Oh" said Tara and Willow together as they saw the Colonel open his eyes wide, and then nod at the both of them.

"Sir" whispered Willow as she leaned in while waving her hands, "I swear we've been professional while at the SGC and… I mean we have smoochy time when we're at home and…"

"Will, too much information" said Tara as she put her hand on the redhead's shoulder as Teal'c and Buffy walked out of the blonde Slayer's room before they headed back downstairs to get the bottom section of the bed, "and breathe."

"Yea, Red" said the Colonel nodding his head, "don't let it affect your work, and there's no problem."

"Thank you, Jack" said Tara as she smiled, then looked behind her to make sure that the Major still wasn't on the fifth floor, and then told the Colonel that she'll put in fifty dollars that it'll take Major Carter at least six months to find out about her and Willow.

"On her own" said the Colonel as he pointed a finger at Willow, and Tara, "on her own."

"Since Tara chased off that idiot, Pete?" asked Willow, "I think the Colonel will be putting more of herself into her work.. so… I choose two years, at least."

"It's not my fault that he checked up on Sam, and I didn't chase him off…. Sam did" said Tara when she recalled what happened after the Osiris incident. Pete, a detective from the Denver Police Department, was in Colorado Springs to help with a case while also being pushed by the Major's brother to meet his sister. The two had hit it off, and she'd tell Willow and Tara that she may have found someone wonderful in the detective. The both of them were the first to find out about the two previous dates that she had been on with the detective, and even though they hadn't met the man by then… they were happy for the Major. But that changed during the Osiris sting operation; Tara had heard about it when the team, pissed off at the detective after his interference in their operation which got him injured, returned back to the base with the Major holding the man's hand all the way; telling him that he'll be alright.

It was later that day that the General, unhappy that a civilian had managed to sneak onto their sting, had no choice but to call the President and give Pete limited knowledge about what really went on under Cheyenne Mountain. While Daniel was talking to Sarah Gardner, the former host to the Goa'uld known as Osiris, the Major excitedly asked Teal'c, Willow, and Colonel O'Neill if they wanted to go for dinner when Pete was due to be released; which would be the next day.

"Sorry, Carter' said the Colonel, "I have a tonne of reports to write… you know how it is.. busy, busy, busy."

"I understand, sir" said the Major.

Colonel O'Neill noticed the blonde officer's face fell just for an instant before she turned to Teal'c, Willow and Tara who told her that they'll accompany her and Pete. As the Major walked away, Tara, Willow and Teal'c looked at the Colonel who glanced over at the blonde figure walking away before turning to the three of them, putting his hands into his pockets and moving to and fro on the balls of his feet.

"Cake?"

It was the next day that an excited Pete, took the Major, Willow, Tara and Teal'c - who he kept on calling Telk – to a nice restaurant. They had taken a booth to the side of the restaurant where Willow was sitting on a chair in between Tara and Teal'c, and Pete and Major Carter.

Major Carter had told them that she wanted Pete to meet Willow, Tara, and Teal'c… that they were her friends.

"Where's the old guy, and the geeky one?" asked Pete after the group had ordered their food.

"Old guy?" asked Teal'c.

"Geeky one?" asked Willow while Tara just looked at the table nervously. Willow glanced at Tara, and smiled…. She loved that the blonde was sometimes still nervous around new people, just like the redhead herself would get all squeaky voiced when excited; they found those traits in each other endearing.

"You mean Colonel O'Neill, and Daniel?" asked the Major as she looked at Pete who nodded his head, "oh, the Colonel has reports to write, and Daniel's helping his friend recover."

"Right, from being…"

Pete then leaned forward and whispered.

"Possessed?"

"Yea" said Willow while Teal'c looked at Pete, and then at the center of the table.

"It's refreshing to finally know what Sam's involved in" said Pete as the server gave them their drinks before heading back, "I've been trying to get her to open up… you know… but thanks to that national security stuff…"

"Pete" said the Major as she looked at the detective, and then around her at the other people dining, and then at Pete again, "you know where we are, right? So let's leave it."

"I'm just excited, Sam" said Pete as he put an arm around her shoulder while Teal'c didn't say a word; he just drank his juice, while Willow and Tara drank their pop while glancing at each other.

"The Major's right though" said Willow as Pete looked at her, "you know what we do now, I mean not everything… but just enough."

"And… and before you knew" said Tara jokingly, "you.. you knew.. what she does, I mean… at least you didn't… you know… use your connections to check.. check up on Sam. I.. I mean.. I think that trust…."

"No" said Pete shaking his head as he looked at Tara, who looked back at him with furrowed eye-brows, "no, I'd never do that. I mean I really did want to know what's so secretive about her job, but I wouldn't do that."

It was Willow who noticed something wrong with Tara as she gently placed her glass of Coke down onto the table before she looked back down at the table top, and then at the redhead.

"Tara?" asked the Major as she looked at the blonde, "you alright?"

"Ummm….. I'll be right back" said Tara as Willow prepared to get up, but Tara discretely asked the redhead to stay, "I…. I.. just remembered that.. that I have to make a call to Amy… yeah, she needed some stuff about… umm…. I'll be back."

"Is she alright?" asked Pete as Tara hurried out from the booth, and headed out the door to the entrance outside the restaurant.

Back in Willow's apartment the day of Buffy's move, the Colonel was telling them that it was Tara's call about Pete's lie that made him check with security on whether the Major's file was accessed. Once he found out that it had been accessed by someone from the FBI, the Colonel immediately contacted General Hammond who then contacted the FBI agent who made the inquiry into the Major. The both of them were surprised to learn that it was Pete who wanted the background check into her because he claimed that she was a person of interest in a case.

"Then the fireworks started" whispered Willow just as they saw Major Carter, along with the others walk up to the door and wave at the Colonel, and the girls. Willow wasn't there when the Colonel was called to the General's office the next day; but Tara was. Tara told the Colonel in the General's office that she knew Pete lied about checking up on her, and that maybe it was wrong for her to intervene.

"But… but you're a friend and… and I was worried" Tara told the Major back in General Hammond's lab.

"Ummmm" said the Major as she looked at Tara, and then at the Colonel and General Hammond, "he… he checked up on me?"

"It would be kinda like a romantic gesture" said the Colonel, "if you can forget about the part where he told the agent that you were a person of interest in a case he was working on. That's when the agent ran the background check on you. Tara thought you should know, same as us. It's up to you, Carter… about what you wanna do now… I mean."

"I..I understand" said the Major before thanking Tara, and then she asked the General to revoke his security clearance.

"And then bye-bye Pete" whispered Willow as the Major walked into the apartment in the present day and told Willow and Tara that the apartment was huge. Tara offered to show her around just as Cassie walked up to Willow and pulled her by the arm to show her, and Dr. Fraiser around the apartment. It was soon after the move to the new apartment that the group went on to Colonel O'Neill's house for a barbeque.

**Tara's and Willow's Room, two months later; 0300 hours.**

Tara lay on her back while Willow had her arm over her tank-top covered abdomen. The blonde witch looked at her girlfriend as she slept and thought about everything that had happened so far with her. Willow had faced Anubis' new engines of destruction, the Kull Warriors, who wore nearly indestructible armour; she smiled at the sleeping redhead when Buffy was the one who had no choice but to use her Slayer strength, after everything else had failed, to take down one of the warriors for a detailed examination.

'She's so excited on working on the armour for human use' thought Tara to herself as she looked at Willow, 'and Buffy called her a geek.. again. My girlfriend, the geek.'

Tara looked at Willow, and then back up at the ceiling. She had been having the same nightmare for the past month, particularly after she and Willow pooled their magic to find Major Carter, and the lost Prometheus; Earth's first space based battleship. She was thankful that the Major managed to find a way to use ultrasonics that disrupted Tara's concentration, which in turn affected her use of magic. They were determined that this was the best way to deal with Willow's magic in case Anubis took over her body, but the downside was that it would affect Tara as well; but everyone knew that there was no other choice since Tara felt that binding Willow's magic would be painful for her, and possibly dangerous..

They now had an effective defence against the possibility of Anubis taking over Willow and her magic.

But ever since the day they searched for the Major, Tara had been having nightmares.

'SG-1, and a few others teams go off world' thought Tara to herself, 'Janet's with them. I wait in the control room…. The Gate then reactivates and Jack comes back badly injured on a stretcher. Then a few minutes later another body comes through the Stargate covered with a white sheet. I see Willow, Sam, Buffy and Teal'c.. their faces say it all. Something bad happened. Then I run down to the Gateroom with George; he asks Willow and the others what happened while I go to the covered body on the stretcher, and… and I see Janet. A fatal injury from a staff weapon on her chest… I hear Sam telling George that she died saving someone… I don't hear who… I just see Janet's body. But Janet rarely goes off-world, why would she go off-world now… I… I don't know. Cassie'll be alone and… how do I tell Janet that she's gonna die. How do I tell Willow, or Jack, or Sam? Janet doesn't go off-world, so there's no need to tell anyone… no need for anyone to worry. Am I doing the right thing? '

Tara then closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but she couldn't. All she could do was hold on tight to Willow, who started whimpering. Tara looked down at her girlfriend and kissed the top of her head before she lay her head back on the pillow and looked up at the ceiling.

**Stargate Command, 1230 hours.**

Tara was in Daniel's lab when the Klaxons started to blare.

She had just finished an interview with Emmet Bregman, a journalist who was tasked by the President of the United States to produce a documentary of Stargate Command which would be released should the Stargate Program be ever disclosed to the public. She knew that the others were almost done with their interviews, at least the man had just finished interviewing Buffy who was now in Willow's lab helping the redhead with some of her work n designing an under-suit for a human version of the Kull Armour.

The General's voice then boomed over the speakers ordering SG-1, and two other teams, including Dr. Fraiser's medical team to suit up for an off-world rescue mission. Tara then rushed out with Daniel, and then on the way to the briefing room, met with Buffy, Willow, Teal'c and Major Carter. At the briefing room, the General had the S.F's keep the television crews away while telling everyone present that SG-13 and SG-3 had people injured, and that they were pinned down by Jaffa.

"SG-1, SG-5 and the medical team will be heading to P3X-666" said the General as Tara looked on while having flashbacks to her nightmare before looking at Dr Fraiser, and then Colonel O'Neill who were listening to the General intently. Once they were dismissed, the General told Tara that she was needed at the SGC, that he needed her magic to heal the injured who would be brought to the infirmary.. away from the television crews. Tara wanted to explain to the General that Dr. Fraiser was in danger, as was the Colonel, but she took a look at the determination on their faces and knew that it would be useless to try and convince them.

Instead, Tara ran to her quarters on base, and then once inside.. she ran to her closet and took out a small box that contained two grey bags. She took out the grey bags, and then brought it up to her lips as she whispered a spell. As she was whispering, the bags glowed white for a few seconds.

Once the bags became grey again, Tara ran out of her quarters and then went to the female locker room where Willow, Buffy and the others were getting ready for the mission to '666.

"Hey, Tara" smiled Willow at her girlfriend who grabbed her arm, squeezed, and then rushed past the redhead to Dr. Fraiser who was putting her vest, "Tara?"

"Janet" said Tara as she stood in front of the short redhead, "I… could I speak to you privately? Please?"

"Tara?" asked Dr. Fraiser as she looked at Tara's worried face, as Buffy, Willow and Major Carter approached the two of them, "is everything alright?"

"I…" said Tara as she looked at Willow, and then at the Major, before looking at Dr. Fraiser again, "I… I… for.. for the past month I… I've been having dreams… more like nightmares actually…"

"What kind of nightmares?" asked Dr. Fraiser as Willow stood closer to Tara.

"Tara?" asked Willow.

"I.. I.. dreamt that Jack was injured" said Tara as she looked at Dr. Fraiser while Willow and Major Carter looked at each other, and then at Tara, "and… and that… that you died. I.. I should have said something earlier, but.. but I knew that you never went off-world and… and…"

"That's the job, Tara" said Dr. Fraiser as she looked at the blonde witch, "it's a risk but we have people injured, and Airman Wells has been badly wounded. He's still alive, but he can't be moved until he gets some medical attention. That's why I'm needed there.. I can't let the other nurses go into danger while I stay here, Tara."

"I… I…" said Tara as she held out the grey bag, "I made a charm for you.. I had it ever since the first time I had the nightmare. It's a protection spell, and… it'll keep you alive."

"Thank you" said Dr. Fraiser as she took the bag before looking at the worried faces on Willow, and Major Carter, "oh come on you two, you know I'm right, I need to go and help Airman Wells."

"We could take some of the other doctors, Janet" said Major Carter.

"And we'll be putting them in danger, just like we'll all be in danger out there" said Dr. Fraiser as she put the bag into one of her vest pockets, "I'm ready."

"Alright" sighed the Major as she nodded at the exit, "we should get going."

Janet and Major Carter left the locker room, with Willow telling them that she's be right behind them. Once they left, Willow approached Tara and asked her if they could have a moment alone.

"Conceal" whispered Tara before telling the redhead that no-one can see, or hear, them for a few minutes.

"You should have told me, sweetie" said Willow as she caressed Tara's cheek.

"I.. I know" said Tara, "but I.. I never thought that Janet would be going off world."

"I know my magic's kinda weakened since I'm out of practise, and especially after we did that location spell to find the Major that left us both weak" said Willow as she put her arms around Tara's waist, "but I'll be with Dr. Fraiser, I'll protect her."

"Be safe" said Tara as she kissed Willow for a few second before pulling back.

"I will" said Willow as Tara revoked the spell, and then they headed to the Gateroom.

Tara then spoke to Colonel O'Neill in private about her nightmare, and gave him the bag.. telling him that it was for protection. The Colonel nodded his head before putting it in his vest pocket. She then ran up the stairs to the control room, her heart racing with worry as she saw the Stargate activate, and then Willow, Buffy and the others headed through the event horizon.

'Come back safe' though Tara to herself.

**P3X-666, 1255 hours.**

Once on the other side, everyone could hear weapons fire in the distance from both Earth and Goa'uld weapons. The Colonel told Willow, Daniel, and two members of SG-5 to accompany Dr. Fraiser to where Airman Wells lay injured.

"The rest of you, with me" said the Colonel.

Buffy saw Willow and her team take off in one direction, while she and the others headed towards the weapons fire. As they were moving, her group was fired upon by enemy Jaffa.

"These Jaffa have the marks of multiple System Lords, as well as those from Anubis" said Teal'c as he and Buffy opened fire, and then took cover while the others fired… killing most of the Jaffa who were shooting at them. The group then moved on to where the bulk of SG-3 and SG-13 were pinned down.

Major Carter was now next to Buffy as they both continued to fire while at the coming Jaffa.

"Colonel!" shouted Buffy when she noticed a Jaffa coming from his right side while he was shooting at some Jaffa to his left. She saw the Jaffa raise his staff weapon and then aim it towards Colonel O'Neill. The blonde Slayer got up while Major Carter covered her.. along with some from SG-13, before rolling to her right, and then in one fluid motion taking out her combat knife and throwing it. She then raised her P90 again and first a few shots as more Jaffa ran towards the Colonel who was now taking cover as the knife dug into the Jaffa's head.

"Thanks, Summers" said the Colonel as he reloaded, before opening fire again into the chaotic scenes before them. They then took cover as more Jaffa approached. The SG- teams slowly rescued those who were pinned down and then slowly began to retreat while Colonel Dixon was shouting into the radio that they needed to retreat.

"A few minutes" said Dr. Frasier who was attending to Airman Wells who was screaming in pain. It was then that he noticed Daniel recording everything; he told Daniel to point the camera at him.. that he wanted to leave a message for his pregnant wife if he dies, which led to a rebuke by Dr. Fraiser who had already told Willow to put pressure on his injury while she tried to stop the bleeding, "I'm almost done."

"Jack" said Daniel into his radio, "Janet's almost done with his wound.. the bleeding's almost stopped, we need a…. Jaffa!"

Daniel noticed movement in the distance, three Jaffa heading towards them. He raised his P90, as did the other two from SG-5, and opened fire. One of the Jaffa fell dead, while the other one took cover and continued to fire staff blasts at them. Willow and Dr. Fraiser ducked just as the Airman's bleeding stopped, and then the doctor began putting a temporary bandage over the injury. While the doctor was putting the bandage, Willow raised her P90, and joined Daniel and the others in firing their weapons. Willow saw that the Jaffa had gotten hit, but he still fired the orange energy bolts. She saw the blast hit the ground in front, and behind them while a few just missed Dr. Fraiser.

'The spell's working' thought Willow as she continued to fire her P90, 'but… can it take on a direct shot?'

Willow and the others continued firing as the Jaffa fell onto both knees, but continued to fire.

"This guy's stubborn" shouted Willow as he fired another shot that hit Dr. Fraiser on her shoulder before she fell back in pain.

"Janet!" shouted Daniel as he rushed to Dr. Fraiser who was in pain, but alive while Airman Wells was asking if she was alright. Willow covered Daniel who was checking on the older redhead's wound while speaking into the radio, saying that Dr. Fraiser was hit.. but alive.

"Doc!" shouted Willow as the other two from SG5 continued to fire as Willow looked over her shoulder while reloading her P90, "you alright?"

"Yea" said Dr. Fraiser with pain in her voice.

"Getting a medic to you, Daniel" said the Colonel over the radio, "we need to retreat."

"Copy" said Daniel as he looked at Dr. Fraiser, who looked back at him and smiled, before grimacing in pain.

"Die, already" said Willow as she fired her last round at the Jaffa which tore through his neck just before he fired one last time. Willow was covering Daniel with the two men from SG5 on either side of her. The redhead saw the final shot get fired from the staff weapon, and then she felt a searing heat hit her chest as she was pushed back as everything went dark.

"Willow!" shouted Daniel as he saw her fall back hard onto the ground with her head turned away from him. He then rushed to her side after a medic arrived to patch up Dr. Fraiser, who in turn ordered the medic to see to Willow.

"Daniel!" shouted Colonel O'Neill through his radio, 'get to the Gate… now!"

"Willow's down" said Daniel as he searched for a pulse, "Jack, Willow's down."

"Get to the gate" said the Colonel quietly while he heard weapons fire in the background, "get to the gate."

"You two" said Daniel as he pointed at the two members of SG-5, "take Airman Wells.. move!"

"Yes, sir" said the two of them as they lifted the stretcher that the Airman was lying on.

The medic then helped Dr. Fraiser stand up after putting a bandage on her shoulder, the short redhead only looking at the unmoving Willow who was laying on the ground. She saw Daniel close her eyelids before looking up at Dr. Fraiser and shaking his head.

Putting her hand over her mouth to muffle a sob, Dr. Frasier watched Daniel reach down and pick up Willow in his arms before they made their way as fast as they could towards the Stargate. Buffy was the first to see the group coming out of the wooded area where Airman Wells was hit, and her heart fell when she saw Willow in Daniel's arms. Shaking her head, the blonde Slayer took cover, reloaded and then opened fire at the advancing Jaffa while providing cover for the injured Dr. Fraiser, and the two SG-5 personnel carrying Airman Wells. Once they were through the Stargate, Buffy and the rest of SG-1 moved back towards the open Gate, before they went through to the SGC.

The Stargate then disengaged.

TBC.

 


	66. Chapter 66

**Gateroom, SGC, 1320 hours.**

Buffy was the last one through the Stargate as she and the Colonel covered everyone's retreat. She saw the event horizon disengage before turning around to see injured getting put onto gurneys. She saw General Hammond rushing down the metal staircase in the control room before he saw the organized chaos in the Gateroom from behind the windows. Everything slowed down for the blonde Slayer as she looked at the Genial who was looking in shock at seeing Dr. Fraiser being helped onto one of the beds while she pushed against the nurse while telling her to see to the others; Buffy then watched as Daniel gently placed Willow's body on a gurney as two nurses approached her. The entire group including Airmen Well's, Dr. Fraiser, and another Captain were taken out of the Gateroom to the medical suites.

As far as Willow was concerned, Buffy watched the Colonel asked the nurses something while she was standing at the top of the ramp just staring numbly. She then saw the Colonel nod his head before the nurses placed a white sheet over her until just above her chest. They then placed an oxygen mask over her face so that the television crew that could be located close to the Gateroom couldn't get a picture of a dead officer.

Buffy saw Major Carter run behind Willow's gurney, and the blonde Slayer wanted to go… but she couldn't move her feet. It seemed like hours had passed, but it was only a few seconds later that Buffy got some feeling back in her body as the sounds around her got louder and louder until she could hear Teal'c calling out to her.

"Buffy Summers" said the Jaffa as he walked up the ramp, "are you injured?"

"N.. no" said Buffy distracted as she looked at the direction Willow's body was taken, "I.. I never thought…"

"Come, Buffy Summers" said Teal'c as he gently guided her down the ramp where the rest of SG-1 was standing around in shock.

"I.. I gotta go talk to Tara" said the Colonel, "and…."

"Jack" said Daniel as he walked up to the older man, "let me…"

The Colonel looked at Daniel as he made a face indication that he knew something about Tara that the Colonel didn't…. that if Tara broke down in front of everyone, it would be because they'd think it was due to losing a dead friend, instead of the love of her life. It was then he knew that Daniel was aware of Tara and Willow's relationship; nodding his head, the Colonel told Daniel to go ahead and tell Tara.

"Are… are we sure she's gone?" asked Buffy.

"The nurses felt for a pulse" said Daniel as he looked at Tara, "they checked for pupil dilation, but nothing happened… there was no response."

"Her parents, mom, Dawn…. they.. they need to know and…"

"Summers" said the Colonel gently as he looked at Buffy, "I want you and Teal'c to stay with Red, I'll join you after talking to Hammond, then we'll see to the doc."

"Yes, sir" said Buffy softly as he and Teal'c ran out the door, towards where the nurses had taken Willow's body. Once they were gone, the Colonel turned to look at Daniel and told him to tell Tara what happened.

"Make sure the television crew isn't here" said the Colonel as Daniel nodded his head before leaving the Gateroom while he walked up the stairs to the control room where the personnel were looking at him and General Hammond, "Sir."

"In my office, Colonel" said the General as he led the Colonel up the stairwell.

**Infirmary, 1330 hours.**

Tara heard the klaxons going off while she was the infirmary, just as Dr. Fraiser and General Hammond asked her to be, with the Goa'uld healing device on her hand whilch she could use as a ruse to use her magic to heal any minor wounds. She was pacing around in the infirmary after the nurses had left for the Gateroom; they told Tara to stay in the infirmary, that the General didn't want the television crew to catch a glimpse of her using magic.

Tara understood the General's reluctance; the blonde had already been interviewed and there was no mention of magic, of demons, or vampires. To Emmet, she was just a normal but slightly shy girl… and Tara wanted to remain that way with him.

It was a few minutes later that two personnel were rushed bleeding from their arms and legs. Tara stepped forward before the nurses told her to attend to Dr. Fraiser who was right behind them. Tara immediately knew that there was something wrong, the nurses had looked at her with sadness in their eyes being their slipped on their mask of professionalism and went to work on taking out the bullets that were still stuck in the arm and leg of the two SG tem members. Shaking her head, and hoping that the looks on the nurses faces weren't what she thought they were, Tara turned around and saw Dr. Fraiser being brought in on a gurney. She was still wearing her vest with an arm that covered her eyes.

"Janet" said Tara as she rushed towards her as the nurses, who were soon followed by Dr. Warner who looked at Tara standing next to Dr. Fraiser, and nodded his head… before heading to one of the other injured personnel. Tara then saw the nurses cutting off Dr. Fraiser's vest with a pair of shears whole Tara got closer and saw the staff blast on her shoulder, "Janet, you'll be alright. The thing I gave you worked, I.. I mean you're alive.. and.."

"I'm sorry" said Dr. Fraiser as her voice broke and she looked at Tara with tears in her eyes, "I'm so sorry."

"For?" asked a confused Tara as the nurses told Tara that she could use the healing device now. Tara put the device over the wound, and magically made the crystal glow red to give the impression that she was really using the healing device, when in reality… she was using magic to close the wound of the doctor's shoulder. Tara smiled when the wound was healed before she nodded at the nurses who checked the site of the former wound before helping Dr. Fraiser sit up. She then told the nurses to help Dr. Warner.

"Looks like everyone made it through safe" said Tara as she looked at Dr. Fraiser, who looked back up at the blonde before she looked away and wiped her eyes, "Janet? What's wrong? Everyone came back safe and…"

"Tara" said Daniel panting, since he ran as fast as he could from the Gateroom, to the infirmary. He was trying to catch his breath while continuing to talk to the blonde, "I… I need to talk to you outside."

"Dr. Warner" said Dr. Fraiser softly as she looked back at the man, "are you alright here?"

"Yes" he said looking back at the redhead and then back to his patient. Dr. Warner heard the rumours, which spread like wildfire in this close-knit base, "I can take care of things here."

"Thank you" replied the short redhead before she looked at Tara once again, "we need to go to my office, Daniel?"

"Yea" said the panting man as he waved his hands about, "I'm game."

Tara walked behind the silent Dr. Fraiser and Daniel as the redhead led the way to her office. Once Daniel and Tara entered the room, Dr. Fraiser closed the door behind her. The hallway was clear of people since the major of the personnel were out on other missions off-world, so there was no one who heard a cry of anguish from behind the door to Dr. Fraiser's office before it swung open and a crying Tara ran out, soon followed by Daniel while Dr. Fraiser remained in her office and wiped the tears that were coming down her face before she looked up, and then walked out of her office and towards the morgue.

**The planet Pelanthia, in a galaxy millions of light years away from the Milky Way.**

Thor and Heimdall, following the events that forced the latter to move his cloning research out of the poison gas planet that SG-1 had rescued him from, were starting a new lab in another inhospitable planet. With the Goa'uld in the Milky Way, and the Replicators in their own Ida galaxy, the Asgard moved their research on how to halt the genetic degradation caused by thousands of years of cloning the same bodies over and over again. The both of them looked at the taller body of their ancestor as he lay in a stasis pod; this being was close to the form that the current Asgard had all those years ago.

However, they were looking for a missing link, which they had found in the body Captain Willow Rosenberg when she arrived in this reality. However, she had to leave due to the dangers of Entropic Cascade failure die to there being two of her in the same reality. The Asgard hoped that her alternate self would also have the key, however when Thor examined Willow, he only found the Furling gene active while the Ancient gene remained dormant.

Although he was disappointed, Thor tried not to show it to Tara, Willow and Colonel O'Neill who were in his ship. But to the grey alien, it meant the possible extinction of people; however, it didn't mean that the Asgard would give up. They would continue their research into finding a cure, with or without the protein marker.

It was a few minutes later that an oval crystal on a console started beeping. Heimdall walked over to the crystal and pressed on it as Thor joined him while a holographic screened popper from the console, showing the face of an Asgard who had a sash around his shoulder.

'Penegal" said Heimdall, "greetings."

"Greetings Heimdall, Thor" said the grey alien, "Thor, we have received something from the nano-particles you left in Willow Rosenberg of Earth."

"What is it, Penegal?" asked Thor as he looked up at the screen.

"Her life signs have halted" said Penegal as Thor and Heimdall looked at each other, and then at Penegal again, "however, there is still some diminished activity in her mind, but it is decreasing rapidly. The High Council still believes that she is the key to our survival, Thor. She must survive."

"I agree" said Thor as he stepped to another console and pressed a stone, "I will journey to Earth while Heimdall continues his work here. I just hope it will not be too late."

**The Morgue, a few minutes later.**

'Is this how it ends?' thought Buffy to herself as she looked at the body of her best friend. They had already taken off her vest and found that the new ceramic insert on her vest, the one that was meant to take the brunt of the staff weapons, was shattered. The blast burnt a hole through her clothes, and then through her chest. Buffy was there with Major Carter who was leaning over her body with her eyes closed, Buffy was there when the Major went off on Emmet and his crew when they rushed past him earlier on the way to the morgue; which was close to the secondary infirmary where he was waiting to pounce on the returning team members. Buffy saw the Major tell the man to cut off the camera and leave them alone… the Slayer wanted to take the camera and break it in half… but she didn't. She and the Major had more important things to deal with. In the morgue, Buffy saw Teal'c standing at one corner of the table that the nurses had placed Willow on after taking off her vest, looking at the redhead - as if guarding her.

Looking back at her best friend, the blonde Slayer put a hand on Willow's cold forehead, and brushed the red hair back behind her ear.

"She was there from the beginning" said Buffy softly, "from the harvest to… well, everything. We survived apocalypses and…. and she gets shot down by a staff blast. Vampires, demons… we survived… but.. but a staff blast."

Buffy let out a sob as the Major looked up at her, and then back to Willow. The older blonde officer then walked around the table and stood next to the Slayer when the door behind them open. They turned around to see an ashen Tara who was looking past them, and at the unmoving redhead.

"Tara" said Buffy as her voice broke while walking towards her and then hugging her tight while the blonde witch just stared at Willow with her eyes wide open, "I…."

Tara gently pushed Buffy away while she continued to look at Willow, with everyone else around there disappearing.

She could see only Willow now, no one else.

"We must go" said Teal'c as Buffy looked at Tara who was walking towards Willow. Teal'c walked towards Tara and put a hand on her shoulder, which if Tara had felt resting on her, she would have turned to Teal'c and given a small smile.

But right now, her body was numb. She didn't feel anything.

All she could see was Willow.

"Tara" said the Major as she wiped her tears, "I know she's a good friend and, and we're here for you and Buffy."

Tara still didn't say anything as she looked down at the redhead while reaching for her hand.

'We'll be outside, Tara" said Buffy as she, the Major, and Teal'c walked out of the morgue just as Daniel and Dr. Fraiser arrived. Once the door was closed, Tara magically locked it while looking at Willow. She looked at the hole in Willow's chest; she then looked at the redhead's face while tears welled in her eyes. She wanted to do something, Tara wanted to call on Osiris.. beg him for a boon, to return her soul mate to life. But Tara knew that it would be impossible, Willow didn't die a mystical death… and even if she did, the blonde witch knew that she'd be doing it out of anger and grief, a deadly combination for any resurrection spell.

All Tara cold do was hold on to Willow's cold hand tight.

She wanted to be alone with her love; the blonde knew that they'd need to bury her as soon as possible so she wanted as much time as she could alone with her.

"I should… should have.. have been there" said Tara as she held back her sobs, "I should have come… come… come with you."

Tara then brushed her hand over the redhead's forehead, and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Remember we were talking about Paris?" said Tara as she leaned over the redhead, "we… we were talking… about.. about visiting Paris. I.. I mean when.. when everything quietened down and… and…. I should have said this earlier, Will… I.. I should have said this earlier."

Tara wiped her eyes as she soon heard Colonel O'Neill's voice on the other side of the door. She heard him knocking, and then pulling on the locked doors. She head Daniel telling the older man to give her some time alone before the Colonel told the blonde witch that they'll wait outside for her.

"They're right outside, Will" said Tara as she kissed the redhead's forehead while tears fell from Tara's eyes to Willow's cheeks, "they… we're right here. You're the love of my life…. And.. and I love you so much that I.. I don't know why I never told you this… may.. maybe I was just scared and… I… I love you so much… I…. I wanted to ask you to marry me. I'm so sorry Willow, I… I should have told you this a long time ago… I… I'm so sorry, Will."

**Unknown Location, at that same time.**

Willow looked into the brown eyes of the woman dancing in front of her.

A beautiful blonde woman dressed in a white wedding gown, while she herself was in her dress blues as they danced with their arms around each other to a slow song. Willow looked into the blonde's eyes as everything around her became silent, it was just the two of them on the dance floor… it was their first dance.

"I love you, Tara" said Willow as the blonde in front of her smiled with tears in her eyes as she lay her head of the redhead's shoulder.

"I love you too, Will" said Tara as Willow smiled as her vision cleared and she noticed other people lining the edges of the dance floor. The redhead motioned the others to join them as Willow's father came to dance with her, and Colonel O'Neill.. who, along with Major Carter were the ones who had given Tara away, came up to dance with the blonde witch. Willow was dancing with her father while she watched her mother sitting at one of the tables working on her smart phone, she then looked at Tara who was laughing while Daniel was dancing with another girl, and then she looked at Major carter who was sitting on a chair drinking champagne while talking to a red haired woman who was wearing a blue off-shoulder dress. Willow didn't know who the woman was, but at the same time she could see something familiar about her.

"Dad?" said Willow as she looked at her father while nodding towards the redhead talking to Major Carter, "who's that?"

"Not sure, Willow" said Ira Rosenberg as he looked back, and then at Willow, "haven't seen her before. Maybe one of your teachers from the Academy? Or a colleague form your job invited by some of your other friends? Or maybe it's a date of a friend?"

"I don't know" said Willow as she saw Xander taking Anya to a seat before he turned and asked the Major for a dance while Anya was rubbing her foot. Smiling as Xander and the Major started to dance with Anya telling the Air Force officer not to mess around with her husband, Willow thought that she was being watched. The redhead looked back to the mystery woman who looked back at her and gave her a small smile before nodding and holding up a glass of champagne.

"Dad" said Willow as she looked at her father again, "I've gotta take a seat, my heel's killing me."

"Of course, dear" said Ira as he led Willow to an empty chair close by before heading over to Sheila who he was trying to pull off her seat for a dance. After some complaining, and hesitation, Sheila finally gave in and put her smartphone back into her purse and danced with her husband.

In the meantime, Willow rubbed her heel as she glanced at the mystery woman who was now sitting by herself, and then she noticed Tara who was walking towards her while Colonel O'Neill was now dancing with Major Carter.

"Hey, Sweetie" said Tara as she kissed the top of Willow's head before sitting next to her, "what'cha thinking about?"

"I….." said Willow as she saw the Colonel's clone dancing with Dawn, before the younger redhead looked at her wife and held her hands, "I was just thinking how beautiful you look, and how lucky I am to have you in my life."

"You are my everything, Will" said Tara as she leaned in towards Willow.

Willow smiled as Tara looked back at her before giving her a kiss. Willow placed her hand on the back of the blonde witch's head and pulled her in for a deeper kiss. But there was still something in the back of Willow's mind. Opening her eyes and pulling back, the redhead saw that Tara wasn't sitting next to her anymore. Surprised, the redhead looked around and then she notices that the Major was back to talking to the older redhead, while Tara was dancing with Colonel O'Neill, and Xander was dancing with Dawn while Anya was dancing with Jon, the Colonel's clone.

"Ok" said Willow as she rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes before mumbling to herself, "this is just weird. De ja vu, anyone?"

"Hello" said a voice as Willow opened her eyes, only to see the red haired woman standing in front of her, and pointing to a seat, "may I sit?"

"Yeah" said Willow as the other redhead pulled a chair back and sat down. The redhead then looked at Major Carter who was now talking to both Giles and Faith in one corner. Smiling, Willow then looked at the mystery red haired woman again, "so.. I'm sorry, but.. I have this feeling that I've seen you before. Do you work at NORAD, or are you someone who's a guest of someone at the IPR?"

"You could say I have been to NORAD" said the woman as she drank her champagne and then looked at Tara before looking at Willow once again, "you love her, do you not?"

"Yes, yes I do" said Willow as she looked at a laughing Tara, "she's my everything."

"I see" said the woman nodding her head as Willow looked at her, "I apologize for my rudeness, Willow. My name is Melina…. I have come from a far off place."

"Really?" said Willow excitedly when suddenly she started to rub her forehead. Willow then started to moan before she noticed the woman standing up and walking towards her.

"Are you alright?" asked the woman, concern in her voice, as she sat next to the redhead on the same seat that Tara was sitting on earlier.

"I have a headache" said Willow as she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, "a bad one."

It was then Willow noticed that the sounds of people talking, as well as the sound of the music playing in the background was getting lower. Looking up, and around the red haired woman, Willow was shocked to see that everyone who was dancing around, or talking, or eating their food, were starting to fade in and out of existence.

"I…." said Willow as she gave out a small yelp, putting her hands on the sides of her head again, "pain…."

"Willow" said the woman as she hurriedly stood up and knelt down in front of her, "listen to me."

"Ow.. ow.. ow… aaahh!" shouted Willow as she closed her eyes tight and held on to her head while leaning forward, "the pain!"

"You must hold on, Willow" said Melina as she looked at the younger redhead who was in pain, "you must hold on… help is on the way."

"Help?" said Willow as she said to pant as she opened her eyes slowly and looked at Melina. It was just then that there was a hint of recognition on the younger redhead's face, "I… I… know you…"

"Your memories" said Melina as Willow screamed again as the sounds of music, and talking, vanished from their surroundings, "the barriers I placed to hide your memories are collapsing. You cannot… you must not access them… not yet. Hold on… imagine a barrier between your unconscious and conscious mind, build on that barrier."

Willow then opened her eyes, face twisted in pain as people started to slowly vanish. The young redhead then looked at Melina and shook her head.

"Mother" she said as Melina grabbed Willow's cheeks, "you.. you are my mother.. I… I remember you."

"Your body is gone, Willow" said Melina as Willow closed her eyes and screamed again as the band, and then Major Carter, and Colonel O'Neill vanished… followed by Buffy, and Dawn, "your mind is now dying. The barriers I placed to lock away your memories are failing. You have to hold… listen to me. I cannot ascend you, I know you will immediately descend because of your love for Tara. That will anger the Others, and they will force you to live like Anubis.. that is something I will not see happen to you. You are my daughter, and I need you to hold on! Willow, hold on!."

"Help… me!" screamed Willow as she opened her eyes and saw Tara slowly vanish, "no… please… no."

Tara then vanished as Willow fell off the chair and fell onto Melina.

"You must hold" whispered Melina into Willow's ear, "please hold."

**The Morgue, 1340 hours.**

Tara was standing over Willow's body while she wiped her tears with one hand, and held tightly to Willow's hand with the other one when she heard the Colonel knocking on the door. Shaking her head before placing Willow's hand on the gurney, and then kissing the redhead on the forehead, the blonde witch then turned and walked over to the door and unlocked it.

"Hey" said Colonel O'Neil as he walked in and squeezed Tara's arm gently while the rest of SG-1 walked into the morgue, "sorry."

Tara just nodded her head before Major Carter came up to the blonde witch.

However, before she could say anything, there was a buzzing sound as a bright white light flashed before Willow's body vanished. A few seconds later, a bright white flashes of light enveloped Colonel O'Neill.. leaving the others in the morgue confused.

"Major Carter" said Teal'c.

"Asgard" said the Major, finishing Teal'c's sentence before she, and the rest of SG-1 behind her, ran to General Hammond's office to give him an update on the situation.

**Asgard vessel** _**Daniel Jackson,** _ **orbit of Earth.**

Once the teleportation beam had taken Willow, Colonel O'Neill already knew it was the work of the Asgard. He was about to say something when he was transported up to the ship. Looking out the Earth through a window, the Colonel then turned around to see Thor at one of two consoles, with a transparent spherical tank that was full of some kind of clear liquid. He then looked past the tank to a pale Willow who was laying in one of the stasis pods.

"O'Neill" said Thor as he walked from one console to another while turning crystals. The alien then looked up at the man and apologized. He told the Colonel that he used his ship's full power all the way through hyperspace to get to Earth when the High Council informed him about Willow's death.

"How?' asked the Colonel confused, "Thor, how'd you know?"

"When I first examined Willow Rosenberg's aid Thor as he walked to another console and pressed some button when there was a small flash of light in the tank, "I placed nano-particles into her body, it is technology that is unable to be detected by your technology. It is nothing harmful to her, or to anyone around her. The particles act like miniature subspace transmitters, they have seen sending information on her Furling, and Ancient gene, to the Asgard Science Council for study. When the data bursts stopped, we discovered that her life signs had faded. The Science Council the informed the High Council, who then informed me."

"Thor" said the Colonel as he rubbed his head, "you should've told Red about this."

"I will apologize to her once she awakens" said Thor as the Colonel now looked at him confused. The Asgard then told the man that he was cloning her a new body; that she was important to the survival of the Asgard, that they needed to find a way to activate her Ancient gene so that they could gain access to the protein marker that Captain Willow had when she came to this reality., "in the meantime, her consciousness has been stored in my computer's memory banks. And once her new body is completed, I will transfer her consciousness, her memoires and her experiences, into the new body."

"My point is, Thor" said the Colonel as he looked at the grey alien, "Red would have said yes to placing those particle things in her body."

"As I said, O'Neill" said the Asgard, "I will apologize."

"But I'll tell you this though" said the Colonel, "I you didn't put those particle things in her, then you wouldn't be here right now."

Thor then nodded at the Colonel before heading back to the consoles. The Colonel then told Thor that he needed to let the people, particularly General Hammond know what was going on with Willow. Nodding his head again, Thor then told the Colonel that Willow's new body would be ready in twelve hours.. and that he'll be beamed back up to the ship once the transfer of Willow's consciousness was completed.

Once the Colonel was sent back down to the now empty morgue, he ran to the General's office where the rest of SG-1, and Tara, were situated with worry on their faces. He told his team, while occasionally glancing at Tara who was sitting down, and trying her best not to cry tears of joy that Willow was going to be alright; she knew that some of the others; particularly Major Carter and General Hammond didn't know about their relationship, and she wanted to keep it that way. However, she still shed tears which she quickly wiped away while Buffy sat next to her and held the witch's hand gently.

It was twelve hours later, a full twelve worryful hours later at the Colonel's house where SG-1 was staying the night while waiting to hear from Thor, that Colonel O'Neill was beamed back up to the _Daniel Jackson._ Tara had talked to the Colonel privately before he was beamed up and asked if she could go with him, that Willow could be confused once she was out of the cloning tank, and maybe she'd be happy to see her.

"You saying she won't be happy to see me?" said the Colonel as Tara quickly shook her head and waved her hands.

"No.. no…" said Tara, "I.. I.. mean…"

"I'm kidding" said the Colonel, "I'll have Thor beam you up once I'm up there."

"Buffy too?" asked Tara as Buffy gave a small smile from her seat on the couch, where she was sitting next to Major Carter.

"Sure" said the Colonel as Buffy smiled and nodded her head, "but I think the rest of you guys wait here. No sense in overwhelming Red with… you know… 'welcome back from the dead' cards.. or something."

"Indeed" said Teal'c just before the Colonel was beamed up, followed by Tara, and then Buffy.

They were beamed into another room where there were two Willow's lying with their eyes closed in two stasis chambers; one of whom had the combat BDU's with the hole from the Staff weapon blast still in her chest, and the other one was in a white gown.

"Thor" said the Colonel as he walked with the alien to the stasis pods while Buffy, who was seeing an Asgard for the first time, held on tightly to Tara's arm while looking at the grey alien. Tara smiled at Buffy before looking at the two Willow's,. She then saw Thor press some buttons next to the one who had the white medical gown before stepping back. She, and Buffy who was still looking at Thor with a mixture of nervousness and excitement, the heard Thor tell the Colonel that the Ancient gene in Willow's clone activated; that both genes had activated and the protein marker was being formed in her blood stream. The grey alien assured the Colonel that he will ask Willow for permission to extract enough blood, and data about the protein marker.

Nodding his head, the Colonel then looked back at a smiling Tara and Buffy who were looking back at him. The Colonel then turned and watched at the glass cover opened and Willow opened her eyes. Tara and Buffy then rushed to the Colonel's side as Willow stepped onto the cold floor of the ship in her bare feet.

It was then that Tara felt something was wrong. She knew Willow's aura intimately, and it was Willow's aura… there were no changes from the Willow that she knew before her death and rebirth. But she couldn't help but feel something wrong.

"Red?" said the Colonel as he stepped forward, but stopped when the redhead looked back at him… and then stepped back closer to the stasis pod. Confused, the Colonel looked back at Tara and Buffy, and it was then he noticed the looked of confusion on Tara's face.

The Colonel turned back to Willow and took a step back while the redhead looked around the surroundings she found herself in, and then laid her eyes on Thor who was standing next to a console.

" _Greetings"_ said Willow while the Colonel, Tara, and Buffy looked at each other confused before looking at Willow who was walking towards Thor who, strangely enough for the Asgard, seemed to be confused as well by the words that the redhead was speaking _, "you are Asgard, are you not?"_

"Oh God" said Tara, recognizing the language that Willow was speaking, the same language that she and Daniel were slowly being fluent in.

" _Yes"_ said Thor _, "I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet. You have caught me at a disadvantage, who are you? how do you know this language? How are you able to speak the language of the Ancients?"_

"Red" said the Colonel as Willow looked back at the man, whom she was looking at with a confused look on her face.

" _You are familiar to me, but I have never met you"_ said Willow looking at the Colonel as Tara's eyes widened while she translated what she could for everyone, with Thor correcting some of her grammar. Willow then looked at Tara who looked back at her with tears in her eyes before the redhead looked at a wide eyed Buffy. Willow then looked at Tara again and spoke, " _I feel I should know who you are, but.. but I am unable to… who are you and…"_

Willow then turned to face Buffy before walking towards her. While everyone looked on, Willow put a hand on the Slayer's cheek before she smiled.

" _I sense her" said Willow, "you are Sineya's successor, are you not?"_

"Who?" asked Buffy as she stepped back, "Sineya? Who? Willow… you're not making any sense."

" _Willow"_ said the redhead as she looked at the blonde Slayer, and then at the Colonel and Tara, before looking at Buffy again _, "I have been called that once before, a long time ago. That name had… no… it did have meaning. Willow Rosenberg, that was her name… I… I am confused. Did I not descend correctly, what has happened?"_

"Let's calm down, Red" said the Colonel while Tara held on to Buffy tightly, both women in shock, while Thor translated.

" _Maybe we can help if you tell us who you believe you are?"_ askedThor as Willow turned to face him.

" _You knew my father"_ said Willow as Thor tilted his head to one side, _"Moros."_

" _Moros?"_ asked Thor who had his eyes opened wide at the name he hadn't heard from thousands of year _, "if he was your father, then…."_

" _I am his daughter"_ said Willow _, "I am Athena Ren, and I would like to know why I have returned."_

_TBC._

 


	67. Chapter 67

**Asgard Vessel** _**Daniel Jackson,** _ **Orbit of Earth, 0150 hours.**

Buffy couldn't believe what she was hearing.

She looked at Tara and Colonel O'Neill and saw on their faces that they were in disbelief about the words that Thor had just translated. Looking back at Willow, Buffy took a step forward and asked her to repeat what she just said.

" _My name is Athena Ren"_ said Willow _, "I do not know how long it has been, but I ascended during the time Ra had enslaved Terra."_

"Ra's dead" said the Colonel as Thor translated for Willow/Athena's benefit. She looked at the man with eyes wide open in surprise while he told her about finding the Stargate, freeing the people of Abydos, and then killing Ra by transporting a nuclear weapon into his Pyramid ship.

" _Amazing"_ said Athena as she looked at the Colonel.

"Yea" said the Colonel, "we've got someone who can tell you more but, to be honest with you… we'd like Lieutenant Rosenberg back."

"And I'd like my best friend back" said Buffy while Tara just looked at Athena before she put her head down and stepped back slightly. Tara didn't know why, but she felt a pain in her chest when she looked at the redhead in front of her… it was as if she knew deep Inside that her Willow was gone, but she didn't know for how long, or if the Willow she knew would ever be returning.

" _That name again"_ said Athena _, "I… I've heard it before…. A woman, a long time ago a woman appeared in my home calling me Captain Willow Rosenberg. I can't remember her face… my.. my memories are fragmented. It's difficult… but why did I descend? I remember her saying that I was Willow's ancestor.. but it does not explain why I am here."_

" _Athena"_ said Thor as the redhead turned around _, "there are some questions I would like to ask of you, questions that would confirm who you are."_

" _Very well, Supreme Commander"_ said Athena as she looked at Colonel O'Neill, and then at the taller blonde, before she looked at Buffy _._

"We'll stay" said Colonel O'Neill as Athena looked back at him. She then noticed the taller blonde woman looking at her before she looked away in sadness, and for some reason that Athena couldn't fathom, there was pain in her chest. She then looked at Buffy who was looking back at the slightly taller Tara who was now looking back on the floor of the ship nervously. Shaking her head, Athena then looked at Colonel O'Neill who was telling Thor that the others should at least know that Willow was alive, although there are some temporary changes.

" _I do not know how temporary these… changes… as you call them will be"_ said Athena, " _ummm…. I do not know who you are."_

"Colonel Jack O'Neill" said the man.

"Ta… Tara Mac.. Maclay."

"Ummmm… Buffy Summers" said Buffy as she put her hand up, "listen, Tara's a witch maybe she could use her magic to…"

" _Magic?"_ asked Athena as she looked at Thor who was translating for her _, "what is magic?"_

" _You would know it as mystics"_ said Thor as Athena snapped her head back at Tara, and then looked at her with her eyebrows furrowed.

" _You practice the Mystics?"_ asked Athena as she looked at Tara after _, "you are a Furling?"_

The pain in Tara's chest turned into what can only be described as a knife to her heart as she looked at the anger in Athena's eyes.

" _She only has the gene"_ said Thor as Athena looked at the grey alien _, "but she is human. And Athena, you have the Furling gene as well."_

" _Why would I have the gene?"_ asked Athena surprised as she looked at Thor, and then at Tara _, "there is absolutely no way I would want that gene within me, not after everything that her people have done."_

"Hey" said Buffy as she stood next to Tara protectively while Thor finished translating what Athena had just said, "I don't know what's going on here but if you say something like that again, I'll kick your ass."

Tara just closed her eyes and hung her head while she wiped her eyes. She then whispered to the Colonel that she'd like to be beamed back to the surface, that she was feeling tired. Tara glanced back up at Willow who was now looking back at her in anger, instead of love, and her heart broke. When Athena saw the look on Tara's face, and then on the look that Buffy was giving her before turning to the Colonel who looked back at her with his eyes furrowed in confusion.

" _Athena"_ said Thor as she sighed before looking at the grey alien again, the redhead noticing from the corner of her eye that Tara was wiping her eyes before Buffy grabbed her hand gently and took her to a window at the end of the room which looked over the Earth. Athena then looked back at Thor with a pain in her chest that she couldn't understand and nodded her head _, "what was the last thing you remember?"_

" _I had given a weapon I created for Sineya's successors with a group of women known as the Guardians of the Ones"_ said Athena _, "after that, it is all a blur for me…. it is blank. I do not know what happened or… Thor, I know I should know these people, but I cannot for the sake of me remember them."_

"It'll come back" said the Colonel after Thor translated what Athena had said as she looked at him, and then she looked behind him at Tara, whose back was towards her while she was talking to Buffy who had her hands on her shoulder, "but you need to apologize to Tara."

" _Colonel"_ said Athena as Thor translated what he had just told her _, "I do not know how I have the Furling gene within me, but I will not apologize to any Furling… or to anyone who practices the mystics. They have only brought pain and suffering to this world, and to someone I love a great deal."_

"She's important to Lieutenant Rosenberg" said the Colonel, "I don't know what's really going on here but… you're ruining her life, if you continue doing what you're doing."

" _I am sorry about what has happened here"_ whispered Athena _, "but if you knew what I had been through with their kind… I was even against the Furlings joining the Alliance even though they were under the command of the Central Authority, I made my feelings very clear with my father. And when I created the weapons for the Slayer, I never left them in Furling hands… I left it with strangers who I felt would look after it instead of the ones who were even under the Central Authority."_

"Colonel, sir" said Buffy as she walked back to the group with Tara by her side, a Tara who was looking down at the floor while occasionally glancing at the woman she would always see as Willow, "may I take Tara back to the surface? I think… I think it would be better if she had a rest. It's been a real long day, and… and I get the feeling that it's gonna be getting longer."

" _Will.. Willow… or Ath.. Athena"_ said Tara nervously as she looked away from the redhead _, "I… I…. I'm not a Furling and… I… I don't really practise magiks, I mean mystics, unless I have to and… and maybe I'll see.. see… you…"_

Athena could sense great sadness, and a sense of loss, coming from the young woman in front of her. It was then that she frowned before rubbing her forehead, and then looking back at Tara.

" _Athena"_ said another female voice as a light appeared to everyone's left before it dimmed away to reveal a person standing in a white dress, with gold accents, and a hood over the head. Tara was the one who looked at her first with familiarity when she pointed at her.

" _You"_ said Tara, _"you were… that voice… that dress, you were in my dream."_

"Yes I was, Tara Maclay" said the red haired woman as she pulled back her hood while looking at the surprise on Athena's face as she teared up and ran towards the older redhead, who had to take a step back when Athena hugged her tightly.

" _Mother"_ said Athena as she held on tight, " _What has happened why am I not ascended?"_

"Mother?" asked Tara as everyone looked at the blonde witch, and then at the older redhead who was holding on to Athena tightly.

"This just got more interesting" said Buffy as a dumbfounded Colonel just nodded his head.

"Indeed it has Buffy Summers" said the woman as Buffy looked back at her in surprise, "yes, I can speak your language. In fact, my two daughters and I have been to Sunnydale many times."

"Red's your daughter?" asked Colonel O'Neill as Melina nodded her head.

"You are Melina" said Thor as she looked back at the grey alien and nodded her head.

"Yes" she said before resting her head against Athena's which was still on her shoulders, " _Athena, I am sorry. I am unable to do anymore than I already have."_

" _Take me with you"_ said Athena as Melina looked at Tara who looked back at the floor before wiping her eyes and turning around. Melina saw her walking towards the window that looked out to the planet below before she kissed the side of Athena's head _._

" _You descended to help fight against the growing darkness"_ said Melina as Thor translated while Tara remained out of earshot with her eyes gazing out the window, silently crying knowing that the woman she loved was possibly gone forever. However, Tara looked up and then turned around when she noticed Melina looking back at her.

_Melina: "She is not lost to you, Tara Maclay. You must be patient, and in the coming days and weeks.. she will need your aid to return as close to the one you knew."_

Tara gave Melina a small smile before she slowly walked back to where the Colonel, Buffy and Thor were standing. She heard Melina tell Athena why she had the Furling gene; that she wanted to help the Slayer when she arrived in Sunnydale because of the growing darkness.

" _It was your choice"_ said Melina as Athena closed her eyes and nodded her head _, "I locked your memories as Athena away, as well as the memories of your ascension. All of your knowledge, all of your powers are still in the higher plains… it's still as beautiful as ever. Just like you."_

Athena blushed before she pulled back and looked into her mother's eyes.

" _But yesterday your body died, and the barrier I placed to hide your memories as Athena cracked"_ said Melina, _"memories of your time as Athena will continue to leak out, and you were in danger of losing your memories as Willow. I interfered in your death by locking those memories away, but you need to find a way to rediscover them."_

" _Can you not unlock them?"_ asked Thor.

" _I was punished for my interference"_ said Melina as she looked at Thor while Tara translated _, "I do not have the power required to do what needs to be done. But her mind as it is will not be able to hold her ascended memories; her physical life as Athena? Yes… but not her ascended life."_

"So you're not like Willow's parents then?" asked Buffy, "I mean, if I get this right… Willow was Athena and she had you and this Moros guy for parents."

"She had a sister, Hera" said Melina before she looked at Athena, "she was Athena's life. But she had a hard life as well."

Upon hearing Hera's name, Athena's excitedly asked where she was; and if she was still playing hide and seek within galaxy's.

" _You will see her again soon"_ said Melina, " _but for now, I need you to go with these people. They are honourable men and women, very much like our own people."_

" _How long has it been, mother?"_ asked Athena.

" _Ten thousand years"_ said Melina as Athena nodded her head while the Colonel, Buffy and Tara looked at each other when Thor translated what the older redhead had said.

" _I must go, Athena. I have been here for too long of a time"_ said Melina.

" _Will you be here?"_ asked Athena as Melina started to glow again, _"mother?"_

" _I'm always watching you, Athena"_ she replied before vanishing, and Athena found herself standing alongside strangers once again. It was a few seconds later that Athena felt a hand on her arm; turning her head, she saw that it was Tara who gave her a small smile before she stepped back.

"Listen" said the Colonel, "we need to get back to the surface. Hammond needs to know what's going on, and well… we managed to keep this away from the NID, the camera crew, and hell…. even that idiot Kinsey's not aware of what happened. But he still needs to know, but we can do that tomorrow morning. I think for right now, we need to get back and tell the rest of SG-1 what's going on, they're getting worried."

"O'Neill" said Thor, "I would like to speak to Athena alone, and also examine her new body for any stresses that could contribute to medical problems in the future."

"Yeah, sure" said the Colonel nodding his head.

"I will have her in the SGC's briefing room in eight hours" said Thor while Athena could only look at Tara, and then at Buffy, before turning to Tara again. The redhead would keep on getting a pain her chest whenever she'd see Tara, and she was now starting to wonder why that would be the case. However, at the same time, she still couldn't help think about the Furlings and what they had done… but Athena hoped that with Willow's memories slowly returning, she'd be able to understand why her heart felt like it was being crushed whenever she saw the sadness in Tara's eyes.

"Right" said the Colonel as he gave the Asgard the thumbs up sign before looking at Athena, "we'll see you tomorrow. I'll need you to speak to my superior officer, as well as Lt. Rosenberg's team about what happened. I'm sure they'll have a lot of questions for you."

" _Very well"_ said Athena nodding her head after Thor translated everything the Colonel had told her _._

"Yeah" said Buffy, "we'll see you tomorrow."

" _If.. if it makes you.. you uncomfortable, then.. then I don't have to be there_ " said Tara.

" _I believe you should be there"_ said Athena _, "I would like for you to understand why I have such anger against the Furlings. Perhaps then you could understand why I acted the way I did. And why it is difficult for me to accept anyone who has connections with the Furlings. But given the information that my mother just gave me as to why I have the Furling gene… I… I just hope that my explanation would make you better understand."_

" _Alright"_ said Tara as she nodded her head before the three of them were beamed down to the Colonel's house where Tara and Buffy went to the outside balcony almost immediately so that she could comfort the Tara who was already in tears by the time she rematerialized. While Buffy was comforting Tara, the Colonel was telling a surprised SG-1 about what just happened.

Back on the _Daniel Jackson,_ Thor approached Athena and asked her to follow him. As they were walking out of the room and into another hallway, Thor asked her about the protein marker in her blood stream; and if he could extract more of her blood, and run more tests.

Once Athena agreed, then Thor told her that he'll be genetically altering her body. He told her that he wasn't aware that Willow was an Ancient; he thought that she simply had an Ancient gene that was passed down from parent to child. He told her that he was aware of the level the Ancients had just before ascension.

"Yes" said Athena nodded her head as they walked through corridors, "near ascension when we would have unique gifts. I am aware, I had those abilities before I ascended."

"I will improve upon this body" said Thor as he pointed towards her body, "make it so that it would be as close to a near ascended Ancient as possible. In the event that you are able to retrieve the rest of your memories, it will not cause a strain on your mind."

"Thank you, Supreme Commander" said Athena as they entered another room where Thor pointed towards a glass tube.

"The entire process will take about eight hours" said Thor, "I will replicate some Earth clothing for you to wear by the time you wake up. In the meantime, you should sleep."

"I shall" said Athena before she walked into the vertical glass tube, and stood back against the black cushions. The tube then moved until it became horizontal, which was when Athena closed her eyes, and slept.

TBC.

 


	68. Chapter 68

**Tara's Room, 0700hours.**

Once Tara and Buffy had gotten back to their apartment, the blonde witch immediately went to her room while Buffy just sat on the couch in the living room…. both in disbelief about what was happening. While comforting Tara in the Colonel's balcony, the blonde Slayer had overheard Colonel O'Neill telling SG-1 what happened on the _Daniel Jackson_ , she recalled the stunned silence and then the questions that came from everyone before the Colonel said that they would be beaming Willow, or Athena, in about eight hours and he needed to inform General Hammond of what was going on. Everything after that was a blur until the two young women came back home.

Shaking her head Buffy wiped her eyes and got off the bed, and walked towards the room that Tara shared with Willow. She stopped at the door and heard Tara sobbing from the inside.

"Tara?" said Buffy as she knocked on the door, "can I come in?"

"Yea" said Tara in a quiet voice.

Buffy slowly opened the door to find herself in the dark. She was about to reach for the light switch but Tara asked her not to turn the lights on. Nodding her head, Buffy's eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and she saw Tara sitting against the headboard with her knees up to her chest while her arms were wrapped around her knees. Buffy then walked towards the witch, got on the other side of the bed and sat down next to her.

The both of them just sat there, without saying a word; at least until Tara turned to the blonde Slayer and thanked her for keeping her company.

"I can stay here if you want" said Buffy as Tara just nodded her head before wiping the tears of her eyes.

It was hours later the Tara opened her eyes as her heart jumped with job. She saw the sinlight coming from the window reflecting off a clump of red hair that was lying next to her. Tara smiled as she brushed her fingers along the redhead's arm before she wrapped her arm around the redhead's waist and then pulled her towards Tara.

"Ummmm…"

"Willow, baby?" asked Tara as she got on her elbow while the redhead got onto her back and smiled at the witch before opening her green eyes, "is it really you? This isn't another dream?"

"Do you want this to be a dream?" asked a groggy Willow as she wiped her eyes before smiling at Tara, "I know I don't want this to be a dream, or else I don't get my smoochies."

Tara laughed before she leaned down and kissed Willow. The blonde witch could feel Willow's lips touching her own, she could feel the redhead's hands travelling up her back before one stopped at the base of her neck, and the other one to the back of her head. Tara could feel Willow pulling her in for a deeper kiss, and she didn't want to let go.

"I love you" said Tara as she and Willow were panting while looking into each other's eyes, "I love you so much."

"I love you too" Willow replied.

"Will you marry me, Willow?" asked Tara as Willow looked up at her surprised, before she started to laugh while pulling witch towards her and kissing her once again.

"Of course I will" said Willow as Tara pulled back, "Tara, of course I will… but…."

"But?" asked Tara as Willow's face suddenly become sad, "Will?"

"You know this isn't real" said Willow, "Tara, you know this isn't real."

"It is" Tara replied as she caressed Willow's cheeks, "I'm where I'm supposed to be; I'm with you."

"Sweetie" said Willow as she kissed Tara again, "I'm always with you, but you're escaping reality. I'm out there, find me."

"No" said Tara as she shook her head while Willow smiled at her, "this is reality, this is real… you're not dead, you're not someone whose eyes I see hate for me… you're the one I…. the one I love, Will. How can't that be real? What if that's the dream and this is reality?"

"You know it's not" said Willow sadly, "you have to wake up, Tara. Baby, I'm here with you… you're my soul mate, I'm always with you. No matter where you go."

"Will" said Tara as she opened her eyes and found that she was alone in her bed. The blonde then closed her eyes again and cried when the reality of it all crashed up on her. It was then that Buffy, hearing Tara crying, rushed into the room and apologized for leaving without telling her. The blonde Slayer was going to continue talking when Tara interrupted her.

"She's gone" said Tara as she cried, "she's gone."

"No she's not, Tara" said Buffy who helped Tara sit up before hugging the crying witch, "she's not gone. You heard what that other woman claiming to be her mother said, Willow's in there somewhere."

Buffy just held to Tara as the witch continued sobbing in her arms. It wouldn't be too long before the Slayer gently talked Tara down, and told her that they'd find a way to get through; that they'd find a way to get to Willow's memories of who they were, and what they meant to each other.

"I want my best friend back too" said Buffy softly as Tara nodded her head on Buffy's shoulder, "she's there, Tara. She's there."

**Briefing Room, SGC, 0945 hours.**

The briefing room was filled with the SG-1 personnel, Tara, General Hammond and Dr. Fraiser who was surprised, but ecstatic, that Willow was still alive when the Colonel had spoken to her the previous day. However, that happiness turned to sorrow when she found out that morning that the redhead had lost her memories and was now calling herself Athena, a supposed Ancient. All of them were in the briefing room having taken their seats while Colonel O'Neill, Major carter, and Dr. Fraiser were in the General's office discussing what they would need to do should Willow's memory loss be permanent.

It was a few seconds later that everyone who was seated down heard a buzzing sound in the corner, followed by two flashes of white light that deposited Willow and Thor in a corner of the room.

" _HI.. hi… Will… Athena"_ said Tara as she stood up while Willow could only look at her, before nodding her head. Tara saw that the redhead hadn't made a move to walk towards her, or to anyone else in her team.

"Willow" said Major Carter as she, followed by Colonel O'Neill, a surprised Dr. Fraiser, and lastly General Hammond walked into the briefing room as Thor stepped forwards while Willow remained behind him.

"General Hammond" said Thor as the bald officer looked at Thor, and then at Willow who was wearing a copy of Air Force BDU's, before looking at the grey alien again, "I am needed in Ida. I will leave Athena in your care, her memories of Lt. Rosenberg are still within her mind. I have compared the scans I took of her when we first met with recent scans and discovered that those memories have been repressed. The memories of who she is right now is dominant."

Thor then turned around and held out his hand as a small oval crystal was beamed down. He then handed the crystal to Willow before asking her in Ancient to place it on her person at all times.

" _It is a translation device"_ said Thor as he looked at Athena as put the crystal in her pocket, "Can you understand me, Athena?"

"Yes" said Athena nodding her head at Thor, "thank you, Supreme Commander. This would prove useful in… discovering who I was."

"Very well" said Thor as he nodded at Athena, "I will have to leave for Ida, the High Council would like for me to return with the data on your protein marker."

Willow nodded her head as Thor turned and said farewell to the others behind him before he looked back at Athena and told her that she could trust the people around her, that she had nothing to fear from them. Willow just nodded her head once again before Thor vanished in a flash of white light, leaving Athena alone with those that Willow would have considered her friends, but she considers strangers.

'There is a part of me that feels I should know them' thought Athena to herself as she looked at all the faces before her before she looked at Tara who looked away, 'my heart pains when she looks at me, why?'

"Do you know who I am?" asked General Hammond as he took a step forward.

"I am sorry" said Athena shaking her head, "I feel I should know you; I feel I should know all of you.. but I do not."

"I'm General George Hammond of the United States Air Force" said the General, "I'm the Commander of Stargate Command."

"You are their leader?" asked Athena as the General nodded his head before the redhead looked straight at Teal'c, "you are aware that you have a Jaffa, and if I am not mistaken, who is also a First Prime among your midst."

"This is Teal'c" said Daniel before the still stunned archaeologist stepped next to the Jaffa, "he's from a planet called Chulak."

"And he's not the enemy" said Buffy, "just like Tara's not your enemy."

"He's actually stood up against Apophis" said Daniel as Athena looked at him surprised, "he started a rebellion against the Goa'uld, and we now have Jaffa who are fighting for freedom."

"And we will have our freedom" said Teal'c proudly as Athena looked back at him, "the false gods are falling one by one; Apophis, Camillus, Nirrti, Sokar, Ra, Set, and numerous others have fallen by the hands of the Tau'ri, or by the hands of the Tok'ra."

"I see" said Athena as she stepped towards Teal'c and bowed her head at him in respect, before looking up at him, "I never would have seen the day that a single First Prime would be the cause for a rebellion against the Goa'uld. I have encountered Ra's Jaffa a long time ago, they were ruthless just like their master."

"We killed him;' said the Colonel as Athena looked at him and nodded her head before looking at the General.

"If this is true" said Athena, "then your people have done much more than the Alliance could have ever dreamed. It is.. impressive."

"We try" said the Colonel as he put his hands in his pockets, 'but right now, we need to talk about you."

"Sir" said Dr. Fraiser, "I'd like to run a medical scan on Lt. Rosenberg."

"This.. this is Dr. Janet Fraiser, Ath… Athena" said Tara, "she's the Chief Medical Officer."

"AH, yes" said Athena s she reached into another pocket and took out a data crystal before handing it to the doctor, "Thor said that this should be handed to a Dr. Fraiser, who I assume would be you. It contains all details.. including scans that were taken just before I beamed down to the surface. It will show you that this body has been genetically altered to contain the mind, and eventual abilities of a near ascended.. what you refer to as, Ancient."

"Your mind?"

"Abilities?" asked Buffy.

"I have my memories of who I used to be" said Athena, "it is Willow's memories that are currently locked away. My genetically altered mind would be able to handle those memories when they become unblocked… as well as any accidental memories of when I was ascended. If my mind was not altered, then it would shut down should my ascended memories be accidentally unlocked… and I would die. Apparently, I would die again."

"Please, sit" said the General after Dr. Fraiser told him that she'll go and take a look at the data.

Athena watched the doctor tell her that she was glad to have her back before she turned and headed out of the room. The redhead then saw the General motioning everyone to take a seat, and for some reason, she was gravitating towards taking a seat next to Tara despite there being another seat that was away on the opposite side of the blonde witch.

'It must be Willow's influence' thought Athena to herself as she sat down and looked at everyone, 'but without her memories, and the feelings that are associated with those memories, I have no connection to these people.'

Once everyone had sat down, the others all introduced themselves before the General began the briefing.

"As you know" said the General looking at Athena, "the woman you are currently inhabiting…"

"Forgive me, General" interrupted Athena as she looked at the bald man, and then at the others, "what you imply by using the word inhabiting is that I am possessing this body like a Goa'uld possesses a host. That is certainly not the case. This is me, this is who I am, who I was before I ascended."

"I'm sorry" said the General, "that was a wrong choice of words; but what I mean to say is that who you are is also Lt. Rosenberg. She is a part of the military, and a part of Stargate Command."

"Yes" said Athena, "she has connections with all of you, I can feel it… but I do not why, or how. I do not have those memories, and the connections that come with those memories."

"Once we've finished this briefing" said the General, "we'll have to make a decision on what to do to help you regain the memories of who you are. And before you say anything, I understand that you're this Athena person, but we also want Lt. Rosenberg back."

"I do not mean to take her place" said Athena, "you must understand this from my point of view, the last thing I remember was ascending, and then I remember waking up on the Asgard vessel. Until my mother told me, I was unaware of how much time has passed, and what has happened in the time I was not here. It is very.. confusing.. for me as well."

"So" said Major Carter as she looked at Athena, "where…"

"She looked up to you" said Athena as she looked at the MAjor, "there is a feeling…. It is strange and…"

"Ummm" said the Major shaking her head as she interrupted Athena, "where are you from, I.. I mean…"

Athena could tell that the blonde woman was having a hard time in looking at her before she thought to herself, 'probably because she's hoping to see Willow.. or at least hear from her. But that is the sense I receive when I look at her. That Willow looks up to her, maybe the yellow haired one is her mentor. Perhaps it would be better to limit what damage I could do, and just tell them what they need to know. But then I do not know how technologically advanced they are; even if they have activated the Stargate, there is no way to know if they will use Lantean technology, or the technology of my ancestors, in a way that will benefit others.'

"I am from a planet called Lantea in the Pegasus galaxy" said Athena to the surprise of all present, "I recently discovered that it has been ten thousand years since my ascension, therefore you could say that I was born nearly ten thousand and eighty, perhaps a bit more, years ago."

"You look good for your age" said the Colonel.

"Thank you" said Athena as she nodded her head before she noticed Tara playing with her own thumbs. She then glanced at Tara who was looking quietly down at the table before the redhead heard another question from Daniel, who was excitedly taking notes.

"Amazing" said Daniel excitedly as everyone looked at him. He then noticed the looks he was getting before he started to respond excitedly, "we know there was a plague that nearly wiped out the Ancients, and…"

"Dr. Jackson" said Athena as everyone looked at her again, "you speak of the great exodus from Avalon."

"Avalon?" asked Tara as she looked at Athena, who nodded her head.

"It is the first thing we learn about our own history" said Athena, "my ancestors, the Alterra left their home galaxy due to a violent divergence in philosophy with another sect of our people. The Alterra who escaped genocide were more geared towards experimentation, and observations of the physical world."

"Scientists" said the Major as Athena nodded her head.

"The other sect was more religious in their belief… almost to the point of high radicalism" said Athena, "if the Alterra hadn't escaped, then they would have been wiped out. And the Ori would be the only ones who survived."

"What did you just say?" asked Buffy as she and Tara looked at Athena in surprise, as did the others.

"The Ori?" asked Athena confused, "why would…."

It was then that Athena had a headache as she grabbed her head and closed her eyes. She could see Buffy standing up and Tara calling her name in a worried voice when the redhead found herself in unfamiliar surroundings, looking at a bleeding, and swollen duplicate of herself. Athena looked behind and saw Buffy, and Tara, as well as other people she didn't know before looking at her duplicate again.

"Listen to me" her duplicate said, "whatever happens, the Ori need to be prevented from getting to this galaxy in your reality….. We're in a new war now, Willow…. we've suffered massive losses, don't let the same…"

It lasted just a few seconds but the place where Athena was melted away and she found herself back in the briefing room at the SGC where Buffy was about to head towards her, and Tara held on to the redhead's hand under the table.

"I.. I am alright" said Athena as she looked at everyone, and then looked down at the hand that was holding tightly to hers. As she looked back at Tara, the blonde witch quickly released her hand before she turned her head and looked back down at the table sadly before shaking her head and then looking back at Athena and asking if she was alright.

"Yes" said Athena as she looked at Tara who looked away again while the redhead thought to herself, 'she… she is in love. That is why I have these feelings… it is coming from her. She loves Willow and having me exist is painful to her. That is why there is a throbbing pain in my chest.'

"I am sorry" said Athena as Tara looked back at her confused, "I did not know. But now I realize that you have feelings for…"

"Athena" said Daniel, Buffy and Colonel O'Neill together while Major Carter and General Hammond were looking on confused, while Tara was looking at Athena in shock before her face turned red and she looked away from the redhead.

"What's going on?" asked the Major as she looked at the Colonel, Buffy, and then at Daniel, followed by Teal'c who just looked away, before looking at Tara who was looking at the table. All the while Athena was looking at the others confused. However, General Hammond looked at Tara, and noticed the shock, combined with the blush on her face before he looked at Athena who was looking back at Tara with confusion etched on her face.

And it was then that he realized exactly was going on.

"Athena" said the General hoping to change the subject, "maybe we should take you to the doctor."

"No" said Athena as she looked at Tara, before looking at the General, "I just had a flash of Willow's memory when I mentioned the Ori."

"Yo.. you did?" asked Tara with hope in her voice as she looked at the redhead.

"I saw myself" said Athena, "I was in a strange place; the Slayer was there, as well as the mystic… as well as Tara. My duplicate was bleeding and swollen and…"

"Must have been the Major Rosenberg who Buffy, Willow and Tara saw in Buffy's living room" said Major Carter before they explained to Athena about what happened to Willow with the Initiative, and her alternate who helped SG-1 rescue her, and then shut the Initiative down.

"I see" said Athena, "if they are in a war with the Ori, they are finished then."

"Who are the Ori?" asked Daniel as he continued to take notes again while Athena explained everything she knew about the Ori; ascended beings to demand that they be worshipped by humans in the lower plains so that they can gain power due to humans giving up their free will.

"Is that even possible?" asked Major Carter, "there's a real transfer of power?"

"I do not know how" said Athena, "but that is the theory about my people. And if the Ori have arrived in Avalon with their own humans to spread their religion, then their galaxy is over. The Others will not interfere."

"Even if an enemy is coming to hurt them?" asked Colonel O'Neill.

"No interference in the lower plains" said Athena, "all I can tell you is that Willow's duplicate is correct, the Ori cannot be allowed access into this galaxy. They must not be allowed, that device that the duplicate spoke of must be destroyed at all costs."

"I agree with that" said Buffy as the Colonel nodded his head in agreement.

"Athena" said Daniel as he sought to not only take more notes, but to also bring them as far as possible from discussing anything about Tara and Willow's relationship, "what can you tell us about the plague that affected the Ancients… or the Alterra?"

"I cannot give you an exact answer, Dr. Jackson" said Athena, "we had many theories about why the plague spread, and how it started… but we have found no definitive evidence. We did try to find a cure… but we were unsuccessful. Before the exodus from Earth, my ancestors sought the help of the Furlings to find a way to cure the plague. According to the history books, they dealt with the mystical factions as the others had already left Avalon, they escaped the plague. The mystic Furlings told my ancestors that it was possible to find a cure by accessing different dimensions within the same reality, a way to harness knowledge that would help them find a cure. But the Alterra were tricked by the mystics."

Tara looked back at Athena who was looking back at her.

"The mystics used the Alterran knowledge about quantum technology and opened a gateway that led to multiple dimensions" said Athena s she looked away, "the gateway released dark energy into this dimension from various others… energy that the mystics could harness to power their own mystical ability. The places it connected to were dark… I read that the planet became cold almost immediately once the gateway was activated, and then…. Then knowing that they were tricked, my ancestors left in a great ship for a new home in Pegasus. They warned the mystics to leave, that the Alterra were going to cleanse the galaxy. The mystics did not want to go, but my people did not care anymore.. all was lost. Before leaving Avalon, my pole activated a weapon that destroyed all life in the galaxy."

"Excuse me?" asked Major Carter as she leaned forward in shock while the others looked at each other before looking at Athena, "how.. how's that possible?"

"I honestly do not know how it works" lied Athena as she recalled the same plans she had in her lab in Atlantis, the same plans she had given the Council after Hera died… a plan to use an energy weapon that would kill all life in the Pegasus galaxy, and then make it so that nothing would ever grow again, "but it was then used on a timer to restart life, and since Earth was the home of the Alterra.. life was restarted here. But I must have you understand, Willow may know who you are.. and what you have accomplished. But I do not, I will not give you access to technology, or weapons, that you.. or any others, use to subjugate other races in this galaxy… or your own people."

"We only want to defend this world" said Daniel gently when he noticed that Colonel O'Neill was about to say something.

"What of others of your own people?" asked Athena, "I was told by Thor of an incident that occurred a few years ago in regards to rogues elements of your organization? However, he still insists that you can be trusted, but like I said… I do not know you, even though Willow does."

"Athena" said Tara, "can we go back to this gateway? Where was it created?"

"It was millions of years ago" said Athena, "the continents were in different positions from what they are now. I am unable to tell you exactly where it is located."

"But your mother said you descended to help a Slayer fight the darkness" said Buffy, "and she said that you guys would came to Sunnydale, why Sunnydale?"

"That period of time was when I was ascended" said Athena, "I do not have those memories."

"There's nothing special about Sunnydale" said Buffy.

"Except" said Tara as she and the Slayer looked at each other before speaking together, "the Hellmouth."

"The Ancients, and the Furlings, opened the Hellmouth?" asked Colonel O'Neill.

"Like I said" replied Athena as she looked at Tara, "we were tricked by the mystic sect of the Furlings."

"It… it still exists… the gateway, I mean" said Tara as Athena nodded her head, "we know that it's releasing some kind of energy that attracts vampires and demons to Sunnydale."

"Vampires" said Athena, "that is one word I thought I would never hear again. I encountered my first three when my people returned to Earth."

"Why did you come back?" asked Daniel, and before the Major could ask a question on technology, Athena answered him.

"We were at war" said Athena, "we were at war against an enemy who were just as powerful, and technologically advanced as us…. And we lost."

'What?" asked Colonel O'Neill in shock while General Hammond leaned forward in surprise.

"We returned to Earth when we realized that we could not win" said Athena, "we lost a war that lasted a hundred years. A war where we lost many, many people.. and I lost my sister. I was a geneticist, and she was the sole reason I was searching for a cure for the Wraith… a powerful enemy much like the vampires you have on this world. The difference being that the Wraith do not turn humans into their own, the Wraith treat humans as cattle… a food source that they feed on. My sister wanted peace.. she wanted the war to end, she wanted for the Wraith to help in finding a cure but they did not want any cure. They fed on her in front of me until she was a husk… and that is when I broke. They took away the light that kept the darkness away from me, so I wanted to pay them back. I approached the Council and begged my father for permission to create biological weapons."

"Did they approve?" asked the General.

"Against space vampires?" asked Buffy, "I sure hope they did."

"It… it still feels wrong" said Tara, "if.. if there was a chance to cure them then…."

"I tried" said Athena, "I tried everything to remove the gene that caused the Wraith, but I was unsuccessful. The Council rejected my proposals, and in the one instance that an experiment did work… they confiscated my research and destroyed all data. But…."

Athena then looked at the Major and shook her head.

"I realize you are excited about the technology you could get your hands on, Major Carter" said Athena sensing the woman's peaking curiosity, "but take it from one who knows, it is a double edged sword. I have used technology that was meant to protect my people against the Wraith, and had it bastardized until I was responsible for wiping out an entire race."

"Wait a sec…" said Buffy.

"I am partly responsible for the deaths of thirty thousand lives" said Athena as everyone looked in shock at the redhead, "the technology of my people was used to murder… to commit an act of genocide. And I played a hand in it."

Athena saw the Major looking back at her in shock before the redhead looked at Tara whose eyes showed her pain from what she just heard.

Athena then looked down at the table and leaned back on the chair before she took in a deep breath.

TBC.

 


	69. Chapter 69

**Briefing Room, SGC, 1020 hours.**

Athena closed her eyes as she went through her memories one more time while taking a deep breath. She was going to relive her greatest regret, her greatest sin, in front of people who are strangers to her. Strangers, yet still people she feels that she has a connection with due to them knowing her as Willow. Athena knew that Willow memories were somewhere in her mind, and hoped that maybe there would be a way to get them back since she started to have a strange feeling in the back of her mind… as if she was missing something. She'd be reaching for it, but it kept on slipping further and further away.

'I hope with those memories, then I would have a connection to these people' thought Athena to herself, 'right now, I do not… I do not remember them. I do not remember Tara, however I do feel Willow's connection to her but imagining myself with a woman…. Who also happens to be part of the Furlings decedents feels… uncomfortable. But saying otherwise, particularly since I sense her anguish when she looks at me, leads me to believe that perhaps it would be best if I remained silent on this particular matter… perhaps once my memories as Willow returns, then things would be different… but if they do not, then what would happen? I would be best to think about this at a later fate, I believe that the Furling will understand… although I should stop referring to her as 'the Furling'.'

"Athena?" asked Daniel as she opened her eyes and looked at the archaeologist.

"I apologise" said Athena, "I was recalling things that had happened a long time ago."

"Take your time" said the General as he looked at Athena, and then at Tara who was leaning back on her seat as she stared at the table. He saw that Buffy was looking towards the witch as well, and he could see the pain in her eyes, as if she sensed that the blonde witch was hurting real bad.

'If their relationship is what I think it is' thought the General to himself as he looked at Athena who ran her hand though her own hair before opening her mouth to speak, 'I hope you get your memories soon, Major; for Tara's sake.. and for yours. If not, then we'll have to make some changes until you get them back. In the meantime, I'll have to notify the President only about this… I don't want the NID getting wind of what happened to you.'

"As I have said, my initial goal was to find a cure for the Wraith" said Athena as everyone nodded their heads, "I promised my sister, Hera, that I'd do just that. But after she was killed I…."

"You felt you didn't have to follow that promise" whispered Tara as Athena nodded her head.

"I escaped with six other Lanteans, and Hera's corpse, from their cloning facility" said Athena, "once I arrived at my home, I called for a meeting with the Lantean Council. I wanted vengeance; you must understand, after my mother died following Hera's birth…. She and my father were everything I had. I loved her more than anyone; we would tell each other…. I mean, I'd tell her that she was the light that kept the darkness at bay, that she was the one who kept me grounded. She'd tell me that I was her heart, that even when I wasn't with her while she was doing her anthropological studies of the people in Pegasus.. that I'd still be in her heart to guide her. After she died… something broke."

"You felt the dark take you over" said Colonel O'Neill as Athena looked up at him, her eyes slowly becoming red. She felt as if the Colonel knew what she had gone through, Athena sensed that he had told her about someone special to him passing away years ago.. but she couldn't remember.

'But he knows how I felt' thought Athena as she looked at the man and nodded her head before looking at the table again, 'he has been through something similar, I can feel it.'

The others knew what it was though.

Everyone in SG-1, even Tara, knew about the Colonel's loss; the death of his son, Charlie. They could see him remembering what happened as Athena recalled what happened to her sister, and the aftermath of her death.

"As I said earlier, I went to the Council with a plan to build biological weapons" said Athena, "I wanted the Wraith race wiped out of existence for what they did."

"You were speaking of genocide" said Teal'c who was surprised to hear that someone claiming to be an Ancient, a race that was supposed to be technologically advanced and enlightened, talking about such a tactic so easily.

"Yes" said Athena, "as I said, I was broken after Hera's death."

Athena then looked at Major Carter who was looking back at the redhead, surprise and shock evident on her face as the blonde recalled Athena saying she ended thirty thousand lives, and now she said that she wanted to end an entire alien race without any sort of remorse.

'But then' thought the Major to herself, 'that's what we're trying to do with the Goa'uld. Maybe it's so shocking because the Ancients were supposed to be the voices of reason, did we place them on a high pedestal?'

"Major Carter" said Athena, "the reason I said earlier that I do not wish to reveal the technology of my people is because I am afraid of what you would do; because I tried to use it to murder an entire race of millions.. perhaps billions when you consider that the Wraith had cloning facilities that churned out thousands of clones every week. I had given plans to the Council to build a weapon that would be similar to the one in Avalon… the same one that was used to recreate life, but my device would only destroy and then self destruct. My plan was to evacuate my people, and whatever humans we could, out of Pegasus and then detonate the device."

"The humans?" asked Buffy as she realized the scope of what Athena was saying, and she couldn't believe, despite what she was hearing, that her best friend could have thought of something so dark… so evil.

"The ones who were unable to leave with my people would have been left behind" said Athena as she sat back on her seat while the others, especially Tara, looked at her in shock, "the weapon would have killed every human, and every Wraith in the galaxy. And then… then it would have made it so that no life ever sprang forth ever again."

"Galactic equivalent of salting the Earth" said Daniel as he looked on shocked.

"Athena" said Teal'c as she looked at the Jaffa, who the redhead could sense was trying to hide his disbelief, "I assume the other Ancients did not agree with your plans?"

"No, they did not" said Athena as she heard an audible sigh of relief coming from Tara and the others while Teal'c just nodded his head, "the Council denied my proposal. My father told me that committing genocide changes a person and… and I still did not listen. Following the failure of my first proposal, I created a device without the permission of the Council.. a device that would cause explosive tumours to be created in the Wraith… killing them from the inside out."

"You're kidding?" asked Major Carter as Colonel O'Neill looked at the surprised look on General Hammond's face, "explosive tumours?"

"Yes" said Athena as she noted the shock on the woman's face. Athena then told her what she did with the device, that she and the other Lantean gave the device which contained information on their home. She told her that the Wraith worshippers, human who enjoyed the euphoria that came from the Wraith stealing their life, and then returning a little of it numerous times, then later activated the device and brought it into the Wraith cloning facility. Athena told them that when she returned to the planet with the Council, the entire facility along with the Wraith were destroyed. But the device had another side effect that she was aware of, it affected the human Wraith worshippers as well. She told them that the Wraith worshippers were in a meal hall that had several customers, including children.

"They were collateral damage" said Athena as the entire room was silent as they looked at Athena, some with shock, the Colonel and General Hammond in horror at what she was saying, at how cold she sounded when she said 'collateral damage', "the Council destroyed my work, I…. I know what I am saying sounds cold to all of you…. I understand if you feel I am a bad person. Know that everything I did was for my people… everything was for my people to survive the onslaught."

Everyone remained silent as Athena told them about her relationship with her father, Moros. About what she said about his not being her father because he refused to do anything major against the Wraith after they killed Hera. She told them that they had their own ways of dealing with the loss and that their relationship was strained for years. She then went on to say that she slowly reached out again after the failure of the explosive tumour device.

"Then a year before we left our home for Earth" said Athena, "the last year of the war against the Wraith, I came up with what I thought was the perfect weapon. The Wraith were cloned… millions against a handful of Lanteans… so I wanted to create powerful living weapons. Genetically engineered clones, men and women, that would have enhanced attributes; strength, durability, agility, speed; They would be the ultimate weapons. They would have genetic memory of every known unarmed and armed combat that we knew off…. Living weapons that my final tests showed had over a ninety percent kill rate. They could wipe out the Wraith for all time… and save the humans in Pegasus. I had planted a failsafe within their genetic code; once they finished their duty.. once they finished off the Wraith and saved my civilisation.. then anyone, any Lantean could destroy all the living weapons. They could destroy all the clones."

"Why?" asked Tara in disbelief as she looked at Athena who looked back at her, "why? You planned to create millions to battle the Wraith and…. and you were just going to kill them all?"

"So that they don't rise up against their creators" said Teal'c as Athena looked at Tara whose eyes showed the pain she was in as she thought about the person she loved being capable of even thinking of such a thing.

"Like I said" Athena said softly as she looked at Tara, "the survival of my people was paramount. That is all that mattered to me."

"Obviously you didn't go through with it" said General Hammond.

"I did not" said the redhead, "the Council rejected it; it was genocide on not just one race.. but two. But the decision to head back to Earth was already made…. I returned with all my data, and my crystals. My people left my home… she's alone now on Lantea. Back on Earth, I stayed with a few Lanteans on the…. I do not know what you call it. But I lived there with others… however they moved on to more suitable climates. My father and some others I knew went to another continent, or was it an island… I think he mentioned it was a large island in the north, I believe. Whatever the case may be, I was eventually alone. I had time to think about what I had nearly done, and periodically I would talk to my father through the communications system on the Gateship I had brought with me, or he would visit me. I would fly over the nearby villages cloaked and watched the people go through their lives. They were at peace. That is what I thought until the night I met a young girl; a very smart, beautiful little girl named Sineya."

'Sineya?" asked Tara as she looked at the sadness which suddenly permeated Athena's eyes.

Athena told them about the first time the two of them met, about how she saved the little girl from vampires.. although she didn't know what they were at the time. She told the group that the vampires had tried to kill her, but she fought them off and ran into her Gateship where she killed them using a weapon that she had kept in the ship.

"I had fainted back in my home" said Athena, "and when I woke up the next morning, Sineya was gone. I used medicine to prevent any infection from the vampires bite, bathed in the nearby river, and then had a meal and called my people all over the globe to warn them about those creatures. Once I finished using the ship's communication systems, only then did I notice Sineya standing behind me…. she had returned. We did not know each other's language so… so it was difficult to communicate. Hera was so much better than I at first contact situations."

SG-1 saw Athena smiled as she talked about Sineya. They saw the smile reflected in her eyes as she told them about how she explained to Sineya where she had come from, and then Sineya pointed to her village.

"Athena" said Daniel, "you keep on saying your city, or your home… but does it have a name?"

"Yes" said Athena, "but… but I fear that you will want to leave for my home and strip it of all its technology, all she has to offer. She is the last reminder of my people, Dr. Jackson… I do not want her to be violated… she is my home. "

"Athena" said Daniel, "I think there's been a misunderstanding… we want to know more about your people. True we we'd like to examine and discover new technology that would protect this planet, but we also want to know about the Ancients… about your culture, how your people lived, how…"

"Athena" said General Hammond as he interrupted Daniel, "we're facing a very powerful Goa'uld named Anubis. He's a half Ascended being who…"

'That is not possible" said a surprised Athena as she looked at everyone, "and how did a Goa'uld become ascended in the first place? I know that some of the Ascended help the lowers to ascend once they have gained understanding…. Once they have forgiven themselves for the… for the sins they have committed. The Ascended who pointed me towards the Great Path was one of those… in fact, she was the one who led a faction to…."

"Oma?" asked Daniel as Athena snapped her head at him.

"How do you known that name?"

"She ascended me" said Daniel as Athena looked on with her eyes wide open in surprise, "I was ascended for nearly a year before I was kicked out… I still don't know why."

"I see" said Athena, "if Oma ascended you, then she must have seen some greatness in you. But to ascend a Goa'uld? That is something that I do not see any Ascended doing, unless…. Unless they tricked the one who was helping them. But even so…. I… I should not tell you.. please, understand that everything my people left when we left Avalon was for the second evolution of my people to find, and explore… we knew that if you were able to, then you would know how these equipment will work. I.. I know the dangers of using technology with the best of intentions."

"Maybe we should continue about Sineya?" asked Tara, "we… we would like to know more.. and.. and maybe then we could talk about tech.. technology?"

"Sineya" said Athena nodding her head, "yes… of course. The next day when Sineya returned, there was a caravan that approached my home. Once I had learned to speak her language, I learned that she had called these men and women Priests…. Mystical priests who were called by her grandmother after she heard of a red haired sorceress."

"That would be you?" asked Major Carter as Athena nodded her head.

"I had equipment in my home that scanned them and told me exactly who they were" said Athena as she glanced at Tara, and then at the middle of the table, "even Sineya feared them… she held on to me tight. They were the mystical sect of the Furlings. They returned to Earth."

"OH" said Tara softly.

"They wanted to take Sineya away" said Athena as she looked at the others and then settled on Buffy, "they… they believed that she was the child of prophecy."

"Prophecy?" asked Daniel as he looked at Athena.

"A prophecy of the Powers that Be" said Athena as she looked at Daniel while Tara and Buffy looked at each other surprised, and then at Athena who was now looking at the both of them, "you must know of them."

"Athena?" asked General Hammond.

"They guide their chosen champions" said Tara, "they give dreams or…."

"They meddle under the noses of the Ascended beings" said Athena, "my people knew of the mystical sects even before they betrayed us and opened the gateway… they were so enamoured to prophesy, to mystics that…. That…. These Furlings who came after Sineya found a prophesy that a great warrior will be born, and she will be given the will, and the strength to defeat the monsters that lie in the darkness, the one who will stop the spread of evil in this world."

"Slayers" said Buffy as Athena looked at her, and then looked away in sadness, "you… you're saying you created the Slayers? I… I…"

"Sineya was born under a falling star" said Athena softly, "and according to the prophecy, she was the one… the one who would become their weapon."

"So… you helped them?" asked Buffy in shock as Athena wiped her eyes while she looked down.

"Athena?" asked Tara gently as she saw the girl next to her show pain, emotional pain, all over her body, "are you alright? Would you like to take a break?"

"Maybe it would be better that…." Said the General when Athena said in a broken voice that she needed to continued. The redhead then cleared her throat, wiped her eyes and then looked up… her eyes were blood red.

"They wanted to take Sineya by force" said Athena, "but I would not let them. Instead I offered them the clones that I was forbidden to create. I knew what the Furlings were capable of, but I thought that if I gave them a powerful alternative.. then they could leave Sineya alone. And so, I told them about the clones… and after they discussed it among themselves.. they asked for thirty thousand. However, there was one major difference."

"Which was?" asked the Colonel while Buffy looked at Athena in disbelief,

"The Furlings would have to convince the clones to fight for them" said Athena, "I was not going to give them any self destruct command within their genetic code… they had free will to fight, or not. If they did not, then they had the right to leave and live their own lives. And the Furlings agreed, and for payment? I told them that they had to leave Sineya alone. And they agreed."

"So….?" Said a suddenly confused Buffy.

"She taught me so much" said Athena as she had a faraway look in her eyes while she looked at the table in front of her, "she thought me to properly hunt, cook, pick berries… fruits… she thought me her language and I taught her mine. She had an interest in the sciences and… and she would clap and cheer when I would take her into orbit. Her family died when she was still a child, and she stayed with her grandmother…. And… and to me, she became like a daughter. She would study in the outpost while I worked on the clones… sending the Furlings what they needed every year for five years. I would send them.. and then leave for home. Then one day, I do not know why.. but I decide to check on the latest batch of clones I sent to the Furlings. A by-product of the cloning process is that it leaves traceable marker for a few hours… so I had located that signal when suddenly the signals all faded at once."

"All?' asked the Major as Athena nodded her head.

"All faded" said Athena softly, "I then heard Sineya call my name.. but there was no one there. Then there was a dull ache in my chest and I knew something happened. I went to her village and… and I confronted her grandmother who told me that the Priests.. the Shadow Men had taken her away to fulfil her destiny."

"They…. But…. I mean.. they still took her away?" asked the Colonel as he tried to hide his anger while the Major and Daniel looked at him. Teal'c was staring at Athena silently as anger towards the situation that Athena must have faced started to grow.

"To them" said Athena s she looked at a shocked Tara, and then back at the table, "all that mattered was the Prophesy. I then left the village and went to the last place that the signals faded in my ship. After a few minutes, I landed at the mouth of a cave, and I walked in. After walking for a few minutes.. I entered a chamber… a ledge.. a large ledge where at the bottom…. The clones I had given them. Men and women… all of them dead."

"Oh God" said Major Carter as she looked at a stunned Daniel, and then over at a shocked Buffy while the Colonel just had his hands rolled into fists, and the General sat with his eyes closed. Athena then told them that she was knocked out and taken to another ledge where she was chained to the wall. The others listened in horror as Athena described the faces of the clones that she had just sent; clones that didn't contain the final thousand living weapons since there was something odd in their genetic code… and she had to redo them.

"I just saw a few of them… and then.. one of the Furlings thanked me for bringing light into the world" said Athena as she told them about the screams she heard from the clones as they died, "I can still hear them in my mind… all of them died needlessly. I created them to fight a war, but… they were all sacrificed without honour. I screamed at the Furlings, including their leader who was carrying a box and walked up some side stairs to the ledge. I screamed at the man… demanded to know why he betrayed me."

"What happened then?" asked Buffy softly as Athena looked at her and wiped her tears.

"They knocked me out" said Athena, "when I awoke, I was in another chamber… my hands chained to the wall. Sineya was in the middle of the room… her hands chained to the Earth. She said she was sorry… she should never have been the one to be sorry. I should have taken her off-world… I should have taken her to the Council and asked for their protection. There are some many things I should have done. The Furlings told me that they tamed a demon from the gateway, a demon that lived in shadow. They fed the demon the life-forces of all my clones… it absorbed everything they were… their genetic memory, their enhanced abilities. Everything they had, it charged the demon beyond anything that was possible."

"No" said Tara shaking her head as she came to the realization of what came next before anyone else.

"They stood around her and released the demon" said Athena as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "I told Sineya that she was protected… and… and now I told her not to be frightened. I begged the Furlings to let her go.. that she was just an innocent.. but to them, she was their prophesy made flesh. A weapon against the darkness. I watched helplessly as the demon took her. She was brave, you know. At the end, she was so brave. But the pain it caused her…. her screams reverberated throughout the cavern as the demon entered her body.. as it…"

'Stop" said Buffy who was holding her arms around herself with tears in her eyes, "stop."

"I lost my daughter to a stupid prophecy by Furlings" said Athena softly as she wiped her tears again while Tara just looked at the table; the entire room remaining silent, "the last thing…."

"Please stop" said Buffy as she wiped her eyes.

"She saved me" said Athena, "the Furlings ran away as the cavern fell all around us. We were still chained but Sineya broke her bonds and saved me. She handed me to my father who arrived with a friend after he received reports of massive seismic activity near my home. After she gave me to my father, Sineya ran…. The last thing I remember was that she was running away. I was in a catatonic state after that… my father told me that I never talked to anyone, I just lay unmoving on the bed looking up at the ceiling. He was then told that that they had run scans of the area where the land sunk into the cavern system below and found the twenty nine thousand bodies. Then reality hit me… I was a mass murderer.. the Furling killed the clones I had given them to sacrifice someone I loved. And… and I admitted what I did to the Council… I told them that another thousand remained which they ordered destroyed. And I was to be put into exile for ten years for my crime."

"Creating the clones" said Major Carter as Athena sniffled and wiped her eyes while nodding her head.

"Before I left the planet" said Athena, "Ganos and I when to each of the outposts and destroyed all my research… all my crystals everything I had on the clones was destroyed. Before destroying the crystal and equipment in the final outpost, I created two bladed weapons for Sineya. Once those were created, the clones and the equipment were destroyed. I found Sineya fighting demons on her own, and with her bare hands before I gave her the weapons. I saw her kill them all using those weapons before I left… after I said goodbye for what could be the final time."

"Where did you go?" asked Daniel.

"Kheb"

"Oma?"

"Yes" said Athena, "I was told that the planet was empty so I was surprised to find buildings there. Oma offered to help me forgive myself for what happened… but I thought that I did not deserve it. That I was a failure in everything I set out to do. I was prepared to leave… I thought that I did not deserve ascension… but someone told me that it was time I learnt to forgive myself for everything that happened… that the journey would be slow and difficult, but I could do it nevertheless."

"Who told you?" asked the Colonel.

"Hera" said Athena with a small smile, "she had ascended. So I decided to stay on Kheb where Oma could train me. I stayed there for thirty years at which point I had a dream that Sineya died fighting creatures. I immediately returned to Earth after telling Oma that I found my path, and that it was time I walked it alone. And she agreed. By the time I arrived at the site of the first gateway, the battle had been finished… Sineya lay dying and I held her hands in mine. Hera appeared next to me…. I begged her to heal Sineya since I was unable to… my abilities hadn't been fully focused as yet at that time.. but some of my others abilities were already developed. However, Here told me that she was not there to heal her."

"Then why was she there?" asked Buffy softly.

"To ascend her" said Athena.

"So she's a higher being?" asked Major Carter as Athena shook her head.

"She refused" said Athena, "she wanted to die so that she could eventually guide her successors… so that she could guide the Chosen ones."

"Sometimes I have dreams that…." Said Buffy.

"Those dreams are given to you by Sineya" said Athena before telling them about the creation of what Sineya had referred to as the Slayer lines, which Hera confirmed were being powered by the energy that was taken from the Clones that Athena created. She told them that the lines went through the Earth itself, and that like the Gateway… the Earth was powering the lines that select the next Slayers. She then told them that one of the weapons she had given Sineya was destroyed, but the other one was intact.

"I buried Sineya near my home with the broken weapon" said Athena, "and then I sent the next twenty years walking the Earth, searching for someone I could hand the weapon over to before I died… or ascended. Eventually I found myself near Ra's pyramid ship where I heard that a group of women mystics calling themselves the Guardians of the Ones were located. I found them, and then handed them the weapon after I was certain that they were not Furlings…. By that time my mental abilities were developed enough that I could sense such things. Everything is blank after I handed them the weapon. But I did say that it was meant for the Slayer…. That the weapon contained the essence of Sineya's power, and most importantly, the Shadow Men never knew about it. I asked them to not tell anyone that I created the weapon. I knew that if people knew it was made with otherworldly technology, then people would go to way to obtain it. I must have ascended after that for I do not remember anything else."

"I see" said General Hammond as Athena turned to look at Tara.

"Do you understand my apprehension when I was told you are a descendent of the Furlings?" asked Athena softly as Tara looked back at her with tears in her eyes; tears that hurt Athena to her core.

"I'm not them" replied Tara, "I would never do something like that to a… a child. Never. What happened to you was cruel… what happened to Sineya was cruel… but the ones who did it misused magic. They forced a prophesy on an innocent even when they were given an alternative. But they're not me."

"I.. I know" said Athena as she closed her eyes and looked away, "something tells me that you are not… it's that same feeling that is telling me that you all can be trusted. But… but I do not know any of you. You know Willow, but I do not… and I do not know you."

"Sir" said Buffy as she looked at the General, "maybe it's better if Athena returned to Sunnydale for a few days. It was her home and… and maybe I could have my mom come back to Earth and help Athena remember who Willow was; maybe get some of her memory back."

'It could help to be in someplace where she grew up, General" said Colonel O'Neill, "and with people she's known for much longer than she's known us."

"Xander would be the best person" said Buffy, "he's her oldest friend.. knew her since kindergarten."

"And I'm sure that Giles would wanna know about the whole Sineya mess" said Buffy as she wiped her eyes again.

"I am sorry" said Athena s she looked at the blonde Slayer, "your life must have been a lonely one because of…."

"No" said Buffy shaking her head, "I had Giles, Xander, Oz, and Willow to help me get through being a Slayer… they helped me survive. Giles said that I've lived longer than most Slayers he heard about and that's because I had my friends around me. I admit I was shocked about Sineya, and the role you played…."

"But it's not all your fault" said Colonel O'Neill, "to protect Sineya, you gave them Clones who could decide by themselves if they wanted to help the Furlings. You couldn't have known what they'd do."

"Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, Teal'c" said the General, "please accompany Athena to Sunnydale with Lt. Summers and Mss Maclay. Major Carter, I need an update on that armour that Anubis had for his warriors. In the meantime, I hope that this trip to Sunnydale will at least jog some of Lt. Rosenberg's memory because if it doesn't, then we have to make a decision on her general status as part of the SGC."

"Understood" said Colonel O'Neill.

"I guess we need to call mom, and then head off to Sunnydale" said Buffy as the General nodded his head.

TBC.

 


	70. Chapter 70

**Edina, 0600 hours (1100 hours Earth time)**

Joyce was carrying Jay in her arms as she sat at the dining table while Jayden was making breakfast before he had to head for the fields in an hour. The man was cooking something while Joyce sat Jay on the table facing her and started to make funny faces; smiling as the toddler started to giggle out loud.

"Come on, Jay" cooed Joyce while Jayden smiled from behind the counter, "can you say mommy?"

"Or you can say father" said Jayden as Jay looked at him with his fingers in his mouth and gave a wide smile before he started to reach for him.

"You don't want me?" pouted Joyce as Jay turned back to looked at her before he started waving his hands up and down while jumping on the table. Joyce laughed as she carried him and brought him closer before he lay his head on the older blonde's shoulder while holding on tightly to her hair. It was then that a small radio, that was being charged via a solar panel on the roof, activated and Buffy's voice came through the speaker.

Once Joyce heard Buffy's voice, she looked at Jayden who ran to the radio… picked it up and then handed it to Joyce while he took Jayden in his arms. The older blonde then pressed a button on the radio and spoke into the transmitter.

"Buffy?" asked Joyce as she glanced at Jayden, "are you alright?"

"Mom" said Buffy as she stood in the control room looking at the activated Stargate, "I know it's last minute and all, but we need you back on Earth."

"Honey" said Joyce with a smile, "I've got to…."

"I know we're gonna be visiting you for a week starting from this weekend" said Buffy as she recalled Willow's situation in her mind, and the aftermath of what happened; all the revelations she just heard, and the fact that her best friend could be gone forever gripped at her heart and she tried not to cry in front of Walter and the other personnel, "something's happened. We… we're going to Sunnydale for a visit and…"

"IS it Faith, Dawn?" asked Jayden concerned.

"Hi Jayden" said Buffy shaking her head, "sorry about this but…. I mean, no… it's not Faith, or Dawn. It's…. it's Willow."

"Willow?" asked Joyce as she looked at Jayden with concern, "what happened?"

"I can't tell you over the radio, mom" said Buffy as she recalled Willow being taken to one of the VIP rooms by Teal'c and Daniel while Major Carter, Colonel O'Neill and Tara went to their apartment so that the blonde witch could pack some clothes for her since General Hammond said that given that Willow didn't remember her life; and instead that it was Athena who was speaking, that it would be a security risk to have her travelling out of the SGC. Buffy shook her head before she started to speak into the microphone again, "please, we'll just be spending a few days in Sunnydale. I'll explain everything once you get here."

"I can keep Jay here with me" said Jayden whispering with a smile at Joyce who nodded her head before telling Buffy that she'll be through the Stargate in an hour.

**Athena's VIP quarters, SGC, 1200 hours.**

It was an hour later that Joyce walked through the Stargate with a small bag over her shoulder that contained some clothes. Once she walked through, she found Colonel O'Neill, Buffy, and General Hammond standing at the bottom of the ramp, the latter of whom thank her for coming on such short notice before the Colonel asked the older blonde if everything was going well on the planet. While she gave the Colonel her answer, Buffy put her mother's bag over her shoulder as they four of them walked up to the briefing room where General Hammond, the Colonel, and Buffy explained to a shocked Joyce what happened to Willow; from her death, to her cloning, and the loss of her memories along with the restoration of her previous memories of being Athena.

Before Joyce could ask why Willow was now calling her Athena, and exactly what she meant that her original memories were restored; Colonel O'Neill told the older blonde that Willow claimed to be a descended Ancient.

It was in Athena's quarters that she, Daniel, Major Carter and Teal'c were seated at a table while the redhead talked about what she remembered during the time she was on Earth. Before they had begun, Daniel put a voice recorder on the table which Athena then picked up and turned it around in her hand while looking at it with curiosity written on her face.

"That's a digital recorder" said Major Carter as she noticed the look on Athena's eyes. Athena looked at the Major, and then at the recorder before placing it down on the table. She then looked at the small television set in the VIP quarters, and then at the device… and then at the Major again.

"Earth has advanced a great deal" said Athena, "your advancement was due to your travel through the Stargate?"

"No" said Daniel, "the Stargates only been open for about seven years now. Most of the technology we acquire though Gate travel has been made for military use… we haven't really revealed its existence to the public at large."

"I see" said Athena as she picked up the recorder again, "so this was a result of your own ingenuity."

"Yes" said Major Carter as she placed her hands on ten table, "we've gone far in hundreds of years… and we're ready for another jump thanks to the Gate. I know that most of the advancements are being used for military purposes, but that's mainly because of the enemies we're facing."

"I have seen some snippets of your… what do you call it? Television?" said Athena as Daniel nodded his head, "wars, reports of biological weapons, genocide, terrorism, forced displacement, weapons of mass destruction…. Those are the reports I have seen. True, that is not all… I have seen people throwing a small ball towards another waving a stick, I have seen people running with a ball at their feet… but what concerns me more are the reports of war and weapons. You are asking me to reveal the locations of advanced technology, advanced weapon stores on this planet, science that could potentially change the lives of everyone on this planet for the better… or end it in one fell swoop. Can you guarantee me that these will not fall into the wrong hands? Can you guarantee me that these weapons will not be used to force nations to do your bidding under threat of being destroyed utterly, and completely?"

"When I first joined the Tau'ri" said Teal'c, "I have seen those similar pictures of war… I have seen what you have seen, Athena."

"Do you trust these people despite everything you have seen?" asked Athena as she looked at Teal'c.

"I do" said the Jaffa, "we do not know if you will recover Willow Rosenberg's memories, but I can say that the people in the SGC are looking to protecting this planet. And they will do everything they can to prevent advanced weapons from falling in to the wrong hands."

"Get to know us" said Daniel as Athena looked at the archaeologist, "get to know us."

"Work with us, Athena" said the Major, "I don't know what the President, or General Hammond will say about your being in the Air Force. Like you said, you don't have Willow's memories… so I don't know if you have her military training or… I mean if you'll be decommissioned until we get Willow back or.. hell, I don't even know how that's gonna work because we've never expected something like this."

"But" said Daniel as he placed a hand on the Major's shoulder gently, "we'd like for you to be our consultant until you get Willow's memories back. You have a lot of information that we'd like to know about…. I mean, it's not every day that we get to interview a living Ancient and…"

"I may not have her memories, Major" said Athena as she looked at the older blonde woman, "but I do have a sense of the feelings of respect she has towards you. She saw you as a mentor… as someone she could look up to and trust. But even with those feelings and senses within me, there is a part of me that does not trust you.. not yet. I ask for patience, and… and eventually I may trust you enough to tell you what you need to know."

The Major nodded her head as she looked at Athena before Daniel started the interview. It was forty five minutes later that there was a knock on Athena's door as Daniel turned off the recorder. Athena then stood up before walking around the table to open the door, and found herself face to face with another blonde woman while Buffy, Tara, and Colonel O'Neill were standing behind her.

"HI, Willow" said Joyce as Athena tilted her head, "I.. I mean… I guess you're calling yourself Athena now and…"

"This is my mom" said Buffy as she placed her hand on Joyce's shoulder, "Joyce Summers."

"Oh" said Athena as Joyce gave her a tight hug while the redhead held her hands to her side, standing nervously as Joyce pulled back and looked onto her eyes.

"You really don't remember me?" asked Joyce as Athena looked at her and shook her head.

"My apologies" said Athena as Joyce looked at Major Carter, and then at Colonel O'Neill, a visibly upset Tara who was holding onto two bags, and then back at Athena, "I… I do not remember. However, I hope that this trip to where I lived after I descended would return my memories to me."

"We're ready to go" said Colonel O'Neill as Athena nodded her head, "we'll be going to Peterson Air Base, and then from there we'll head to the Sunnydale army base."

"Very well" said Athena as she looked at the Major, "will we use transportation rings? Or…"

"Oh this gonna be fun" said the Colonel as he turned around and led the others towards the elevators.

"You'll be taken by a vehicle to our nearby air base" said Major Carter as Athena nodded her head, "from there you'll be boarding a plane that uses a liquid form of hydro-carbon for fuel that'll take you to Sunnydale."

"Interesting" said Athena as the elevator doors opened, "does it have inertial dampeners?"

"I'm afraid not" said the Major as Athena raised her eyebrows.

"This is going to be really interesting" said Athena as the doors closed, leaving the Major in the lobby of the seventeenth floor. She then sighed and pressed the button for the elevator once again, she was going to go down to Willow's lab and start off where they last finished on the Kull armour.

'Just wish you were here, Willow' though the Major as she walked into the elevator, and then went down to the twenty second floor.

**The Summers Residence, Sunnydale, 1630 hours.**

Tara sat next to Athena in the SUV's back seat while Daniel, and Teal'c took the middle row of seats and Colonel O'Neill drove.. with Joyce seated next to him. While the four of them were talking, Tara couldn't help but glance at Athena who was looking at the to-go bag that was laying on her lap. She opened the top zipper and then looked at the clothes inside before she closed it and looked up at Tara, and gave her a small smile. However, Tara could see that the smile didn't reach Athena's eyes… and she could see from the redhead's aura that the colours she associated with their love for each other wasn't there… it was something that was breaking her heart.

But she couldn't say anything to Athena.

Once they drove out of Cheyenne Mountain's front gate, Tara pointed to the outside as Athena looked through the tinted windows at a very different Earth than the one she lived on thousands of years ago; different, but still she could feel that it was the same. She looked on as the Colonel drove the SUV until they reached the base where she saw a plane already on the tarmac. It was the plane ride to Sunnydale that had gotten Tara, Buffy, and Joyce giggling as a strapped in Athena was holding on for dear life as he knuckles became white through take off, turbulence, and then the landing over at Sunnydale Army base after a few hours.

"I… I've changed my mind" said Athena as she took off the restraints after the plane stopped, "if I ever remember information about Inertial dampeners then…"

"Yea" said Colonel O'Neill as Buffy and Tara looked at each other while trying not to laugh at the fear on Athena's face as she recalled the turbulence, "we kinda have that for the X-302, it hasn't been fitted for this type of planes yet."

"Oh" said Athena.

"Come on" said Daniel as they walked out of the plane, and into a waiting car.

They had been debating whether to take Athena to the home she had as Willow, but given that there were almost not pictures of her and her family… it was instead decided that they take Athena to Buffy's home where, for now at least, Xander would meet them. The plan was that since Xander was Willow's oldest friend, that he had the greatest chance to help Athena recover her memories. They called him before they left, and told him what happened to Willow… and asked him not to tell anyone else. Buffy had told him just to meet them at her house, and to bring any pictures they had of each other.

The SUV stopped at the Summers house before the occupants walked outside onto the pavement. They then walked towards the porch while Athena looked up at the house, before she had a flash of memory where she was a part of a huge group of females all attacking one young man. Just as it appeared, the flash of memory passed and Willow shook her head.

"Are you alright?" asked Tara when she noticed Athena rubbing her head before walking towards the house again.

"I just had a flash of Willow's memory" said Athena as the others looked back at her, "I was with a large group of women attacking a man. I could not see his face, but I felt as if I…"

'Loved him?" asked Buffy as Joyce realized what Buffy and Athena were taking about while Tara looked on confused, "love him so much that you wanted to kill him?"

"Yes" said Athena.

Buffy and Joyce looked at each other, and then at Athena before speaking at the same time.

"Love spell" said the two of them while Joyce knocked on the door.

Athena and Tara looked at each other confused as the door opened. It was then that Athena looked at the dark haired man who opened the door before she grabbed her head and yelped just he looked at her in concern while Tara held on to Athena's shoulders. Athena then brought another hand to the side of her head as she looked at the man before her. Just then others vanished in a flash of light. Athena then found herself in what looked like a school where she saw a younger version of herself holding hands with an older red haired woman.

"Willow" said the woman as she crouched down and ran her hand through the little girl's hair, "it's your first day of kindergarten."

"Mommy don't go" said Willow as she looked at Sheila who was giving her a small smile.

"Mommy has to go work, honey" said Sheila as Athena looked at the memory, "me and daddy will do everything we can to give you the best life you can have. But that means that won't see us every day. Willow, you have to learn to be independent."

"Don't leave me, mommy" said Willow with tears in her eyes and she looked at all of the children in the room, and then back at Sheila.

"Beatrice will be back to pick you up, Willow" said Sheila before she wiped the little girl's tears, "your daddy and I have to go away for a few days. You'll be safe."

"Mommy?" said Willow as Sheila slowly got up and walked backwards while Athena looked on.

"Mommy?" said Willow again as she wiped the tears that were coming down her cheeks. She could see that her mother's eyes were becoming red too, and that her bottom lip was trembling, "mommy, don't leave me."

"I'll see you in four days, Willow" said Sheila as she walked out of the door backwards before she rushed out through the hallway, leaving Willow standing there by herself as a dark haired woman approached the girl from behind.

"Hi, Willow" said the woman as the little girl turned around to see the woman crouch down and smile at her, "my name is Jenny Rice."

"Hel… Hello, Miss Rice" said Willow as she struggled to speak since she was gasping for air while rubbing her eyes, "I.. I'm Will… Willow Rosenberg."

"How about we get you to a seat so that you can meet some new friends?" asked Rice as she slowly got up and picked up Willow's backpack while holding her hand. She then walked over to one of the tables where there were two girls and three boys seated; they were all either colouring, or drawing something on paper. Rice then introduced Willow, who stood and gave the others a little wave before telling them something about herself, before she sat down again.

As she started to colour with a red crayon, the boy next to her leaned towards her.

"I like your hair" said the boy with a grin on his face.

"Thank you" said Willow as she gave him a small smile.

"My name is Xander Harris; I have snacks."

Then there was another flash as Athena found herself kneeling on the porch as the others looked on in concern at her. She then raised her head and looked into the eyes of the young man who was crouching down with concern on his face.

"You are Xander" said Athena as Tara and Buffy, as well as the others, looked at her in surprise as Xander kneeled in front of her, "you and Willow… you and… and I… went to school together since we were young."

"You remember?" asked Tara as Athena nodded her head. It was then that Tara felt a pang of jealousy when she saw the first hints of love that she knew Willow had for Xander; she could see it in her aura as it flared. Tara then looked away, and while her heart broke again… she was still hopeful that since Athena remembered some parts of Willow's life… that she'd remember the love that they have for each other.

"You said you liked my hair" said Athena as she blushed, "we were in Miss Rice's class, and.. and Willow's mother…. My mother had to go somewhere and…. and…"

"I said I had snacks" said Xander as Athena smiled at him, 'and at lunch, I shared whatever I had with whatever you had… we made a party out of it. Lots of jealous boys that day."

Buffy then helped Athena stand up as the redhead looked at Xander before she narrowed her eyes at him when she had another flash of memory.

"You made all the girls in this place fall in love with you" said Athena while the Colonel and Daniel coughed, and Teal'c raised his eyebrow at Xander, "I remember feeling a compulsion to kill you… you dabbled in the mystics?"

"Long story" said Xander as he looked at Athena, and then at the others, "seriously, long story of a spell that went haywire. Not really keen on that part of my childhood again."

"Xander!" shouted a voice from inside the house, "are they here yet?"

"Sorry" said Xande ras he looked sheepishly at Joyce, "you didn't tell me not to tell Dawn. Besides, she just got home thirty minutes ago and…."

"That… that voice…" said Athena as she looked through the open front door and into the house, "it… it.. can't be…"

"Athena?" asked Daniel as he noticed the wide eyed look on the redhead's face before she shot past them and ran into the house, followed soon by the rest of them.

"Hera!" shouted Athena as she stepped into the foyer and looked around. It was then she noticed the pictures on the mantle in the living room before she ran towards them, just as Buffy, Tara, and the others with confused looks on their faces walked into the house and closed the door behind them. They saw Athena pick up a picture of Joyce, Buffy and a young brunette who were lying on a bed laughing at the camera. Tara saw Athena's lips, and hands, trembling as she looked at that one picture before the redhead looked up at them.

"How… how do you have this picture?" asked Athena as she looked at Joyce and Buffy, "how!?"

Stunned as Athena shouted at them about the picture, the group soon heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Hey" said Dawn cheerfully as she ran down the stairs once she saw Daniel, and knew that Joyce and the others had arrived. She then went to hug Buffy, before she hugged Tara and then Joyce. Dawn then turned and was about to give Athena a hug, hoping that her memory would return, when she stopped in her tracks. Dawn saw Athena's lips, as well as her hands, tremble as she dropped the picture frame onto the floor.

"Athena?" asked Colonel O'Neill as he noticed that the redhead was stepping back slightly.

"Athena" said Tara, "you said Hera… why?"

"She did" said Buffy and Daniel together.

"Athena, what's going on?" asked Daniel.

"Willow?" said Dawn softly.

Xander had told her about what happened to Willow.. and while Dawn was upset that she died; she perked up again after having been told that the redhead was cloned, but that there were some side-effects, "it's me, Dawn… do you remember me? I'm…"

"You came back" said Athena as tears welled up in her eyes while she looked at Dawn, who herself looked on confused at Joyce and the others before looking at Athena again, "why did you come back? Were you not happy?"

Willow took a few steps forward before giving a very confused Dawn a tight hug as she started crying on the young brunette's shoulder. Everyone looked on confused, especially Dawn, as Athena held on to the young girl tightly. It was Tara, however, who knew that something was different.. she saw Willow's aura as it erupted in a flash of blue when the redhead hugged Dawn.

'Athena loves her… she loves her so much' thought Tara to herself, 'she never had that intense colour even for me… she called for Hera.. Hera… no way…'

"Athena" said Tara gently as she walked towards her while placing a hand on Buffy and Joyce's shoulders, "have you met Hera?"

"Yes" said Athena as she looked back and looked into Dawn's eyes while the others all looked at Tara, who asked them to hold on. Athena wiped her tears before she placed her hands on both of Dawn's cheeks, "I have found her."

"Ummm…." said a confused Dawn, "guys? Willow?"

"Athena" said Buffy, "Dawn's not Hera, she's my sister and…."

"I recognize my sister anywhere" said Athena as she looked at Hera and gave her a small smile, "but… but if she descended, then I believe her memories must have been wiped clean. However, I do not know why…"

"You loved your sister" said Tara as she walked towards Athena who looked at Dawn while nodding her head, "I can see… I can see your aura. It's brighter that any feelings that Willow had for me."

"She was my light" said Athena softly as she closed her eyes, "she was one of the top anthropologists in the city; she loved creatures… especially the ones that I found disgusting. There was one time we went on a trip to another planet. Hera had seen a slimy, disgusting creature called a Fereger. It jumped onto my head and… and I jump around begging for someone to take it off me while Hera stood there laughing. Many young men wanted to be with her… I even had to threaten a few away. They were only interested in…. well…"

"We can guess" said the Colonel as Athena opened her eyes and looked into Dawn's eyes.

'I threatened one young man in particular" said Athena as she looked at Hera, "I overheard him wanting to take advantage of you… so I told him that if he talks to you again, I will sent him through a space gate.. and into a black hole."

Buffy almost laughed at that as Joyce looked at her. Shrugging Buffy then told her mother, and the others, that she'd do the same thing if she heard any guy talk that way about Dawn.

"You got angry at me" said Athena as she looked at Dawn who gave her a small smile when she realized that she would have done the same thing if she found out that Buffy had some the same thing to her, "you said that you hated me, and that you wished I wasn't you sister. So that day, I went to fetch a few Feregers for you. I was muddy all over and you laughed when you saw me. I even fell on some waste.. I believe."

"You must have stunk" said Dawn as she smiled at Athena.

"I did" said Athena, "you did too after I hugged you."

"Willow… Athena…" said Dawn, "I know you miss your sister, but I'm not her."

"You…." said Athena when she had another flash of memory as she listened to herself speaking while she was on the bridge of a ship. The moment passed in just an instant with the redhead looking at surprise at Dawn, "you are the Key?"

"What?" asked Dawn as Buffy and Joyce looked at each other before Colonel O'Neill interrupted them.

"Daniel" said Colonel O'Neill, "can you take Dawn out for some burgers and shakes…. As many as she wants."

"Dawn" said a stunned Joyce while she remembered the way that Dawn was speaking periodically when the Knights of Byzantium almost killed her by forcing the Key out of her body, "go with Dr. Jackson."

"But…"

"Dawnie" said Buffy as she glared at Athena, who almost revealed something that they didn't want to burden Dawn with, "go, now."

"Come on, Dawn" said Daniel as he held on to her shoulder before they left out the front door, all the while Buffy and Athena were looking at each other. Daniel then closed the door behind him before Buffy walked towards Athena in anger. She had taken two steps forward before Tara gently pulled her back.

"Who do you think you are?" asked Buffy as she glared at Athena, "we all agreed that she won't find out what she is and…"

"Who do I think I am?" asked Athena as the others looked at her, while the redhead looked at everyone, especially Buffy and Joyce, "I'm her sister. That's who I am."

"You know" said Buffy, "I'm hoping that we get Willow back real soon cause…"

"Let's everyone take it easy" said Colonel O'Neill as he put his hands up and approached Buffy while Teal'c stood in-between Buffy, Joyce, and Xander on one side… and Athena who was standing by herself.

"What?" asked Athena as she glared at Buffy with tears in her eyes as she pointed at the SUV that had just been driven away, "you have no idea what it is like to watch someone you love die right in front of you… you have no idea what it is like to discover that she is alive and well, but does not remember you. Do not think that I take this lightly.."

"We know you don't" said Tara gently as she stood between the two groups with Teal'c, "I know how much you love her. I know you're telling the truth… I can tell."

"Oh God" said Joyce as everyone looked at her while she wiped a tear, "the.. the day she nearly died when the Knights were extracting the Key from her… Dawn said some things. The way she spoke…"

"Mom?' asked Buffy.

"Mrs. Summers, what'd she say?" asked the Colonel.

"She said she could smell the ocean… that she could see the stars" said Joyce as she wiped her tears before looking at Athena, "she told me that she could see towers; a shining city."

"She… she saw.." said Athena as she stumbled back, "she saw our home… she saw…"

"I didn't know what to think" said Joyce, "that's why I never told anyone.. not even Buffy, or Faith. She told me that after her body was gone.. that we won't remember her anymore. But she'll always remember us. She said that the Matrix was leaving her.. that she could feel it leaving.."

"The Matrix?" asked Athena, "are you sure she said the Matrix?"

"Yes" said Joyce nodding her head.

"She couldn't have…. She couldn't… no…"

'Athena?" asked Teal'c, "what is the Matrix?"

"All Lantean children learned about the Matrix" said Athena, "living energy that was created by my people to activate the Gateway.. the thing you call the Hellmouth. Once it was activated, the Matrix was used to opened the dimensional doorways behind the Gate. Once it opened every dimension, then the Gateway became automatically connected to the Earth.. it derived power from the planet itself. Our history said that the Matrix was buried within the Earth… so that others may not retrieve it."

"The key" said Buffy.

"But you… or your alternate dream self told you that the monks created Dawn to house the Key" said Xander.

"You don't understand" said Athena as she collapsed on the couch and put her face into her hands before looking up at the group, "the Matrix is powerful… powerful enough to punch into different dimensions. That kind of a power could never be held inside a human body. Mystically created or not, that is just not possible since the body will break down."

"What're you saying?" asked Colonel O'Neill as he glanced at the worried looks on Joyce and Buffy.

"To hold all that power so that it does not break down a vessel, the vessel would have to be a body that is advanced; such as being evolved to the point of near ascension" said Athena as she looked at the others, "Hera… Hera descended to become it's vessel… she's at a point of near ascension and… and mother must have placed blocks in her mind to hide her memories away from her. That is why when you saw that the Key was being forced out… I mean, the blocks may have faded for an instant allowing for her real memories to come through; but re-established themselves once…"

"The monk finished the spell to seal the key inside her" said Buffy, "he died after that."

"She's really Hera" said Athena as she looked down onto the floor, "but.. but why would she return to the lower plains. She said that she would be watching me… ever since I saw her on Kheb. She said she would be watching me.. so why?"

Buffy told Athena about what Glory wanted to do with the Key based on intelligence that the SGC received from Willow's dream.

"Hera should have let the world end, at least then I could have been with her again" said a despondent Athena as she walked past every one before walking out of the front door, and onto the porch. She then sat down on the stairs that led up to the porch and wiped the tears that were coming out of her eyes as she recalled everything she could remember about Hera. Athena then had a great feeling of loneliness, and a sinking feeling in her heart, as she recalled the confused look on Dawn's face.

'I am alone' thought Athena to herself, 'I am truly alone.'

TBC.

 


	71. Chapter 71

**The Summers Residence, 1700 hours.**

As Athena sat on the stairs that led to the porch, she played with her thumbs while looking out at the lawn as a mixture of emotions swelled within her; the foremost of which was a feeling of loneliness. She knew that all her people, the Lanteans, were gone; Atlantis was gone; her father, who unknown to her was being held in stasis on another world in the event that he was needed to rebuild the weapon known as the Sangraal, and mother were ascended and the likelihood that they'll be able to interact with her again so soon was something Athena wasn't expecting. And last of all, Athena just met her sister, a sister that didn't remember who she was… and who Athena was. All Athena wanted to do was leave the planet, she wanted to escape from it all; she wanted to call the Asgard and request that she help them in fixing their genetic problem.

She thought about leaving Earth behind and helping the Asgard with their problem; she knew that they would be able to do what they needed to do since they now had data on her protein marker, but Athena just wanted to escape.

'Father did say that Thor wanted to meet, and work with me one day' thought Athena to herself as she just looked at the dark green grass. She could feel the gentle breeze brush past her as the branches on the trees swayed… she listened to the rustle of the leaves and was immediately brought to the Pegasus galaxy in one of her memories of Moros, Hera and herself going camping on another world when they were five and six years old respectively. Athena then shook her head as she had another flash of herself as Willow, sitting on the floor next to her bed while Buffy was lying down on the bed behind her and playing with her hair. Athena remembered that Xander was there too, sipping a drinking from a carton as the three of them watched an Indian movie while discussing the plot and their reasons why the characters were singing.

Athena shook her head again as she brought her hands to her face and sighed. She brought up her knees to her chest and then placed her hands in her knees and closed her eyes. She could sense the feelings of the people in the house; a mixture of feelings ranging from anger, to confusion, to sympathy. It was just then that the sounds of the leave rustling had vanished, as did the gentle breeze that went past Athena's cheeks and though her red hair.

Opening her eyes, she looked at a blonde hair woman as she stood in front of her wearing a cream coloured shirt and dark brown trousers. Athena could tell automatically that she was an ascended being, but someone she hadn't met before… she wasn't Oma, or her mother.

"Greetings" said Athena nodding her head.

"I'd have guessed you'd know who I am" said the woman as she signalled the space next to the redhead, "may I sit?"

"Yes" said Athena as she watched the woman walk over and then sit next to her, "you're one of the Ascended. If I have met you before…. I apologise for not recognizing who you are. My memories of my Ascension have been blocked."

"No" said the woman, "I haven't met you before, Athena; but I have been watching you alongside Melina."

"You know my mother?" asked Athena surprised.

"I do" she replied, "she's been…. Well, she's been punished for helping you. I mean, she blocked your memories and essentially prevented your death; the others saw that as interference and punished her by taking away her powers. But they also know you've been one of them for a long time, so they delayed action until your body was cloned."

"I see" said Athena.

"But I've met your sister too" said the woman as Athena snapped her head toward the woman with surprise on her face, "in fact, it was your mother who ascended me.. I guess she must have seen something in me."

"Who are you?" asked Athena.

"Sorry" said the woman as she smiled at Athena, "my name's Sarah MaClay, I'm Tara's mom."

"Oh" said Athena in surprise before she looked back at the house, and then at Sarah again, "does she know that you are… I mean…"

"Ascended?" asked Sarah, "no, and I'd appreciate if you don't tell her? At least not yet."

"Very well" said Athena nodding her head, "but that does not explain why you have come."

"I was exploring the Mutara galaxy years ago when I suddenly felt a heavy anguish" said Sarah as she reached down and picked up some blades of grass, placing them in the palms of her hands, "it was Melina. She was on another planet in the Milky Way… sent there as punishment for what she did to a being called Glory."

"The creature that the Slayer was telling me about" said Athena as Sarah nodded her head, "the same one who wanted to obtain the Matrix and end this world."

"Yep, that's the one" said Sarah, "but that wasn't what she was grieving about. Look, Athena… Melina was lying huddling herself on a beach crying her eyes out. It took her hours to calm down before she told me what happened… what Hera did."

"What did she do?" asked Athena as she faced the blonde, "Sarah, what did my sister do?"

"Melina knew that the body that the monks were trying to build wouldn't be able to hold the energy that you call the Matrix" said Sarah, "she knew that they'd need a more advanced body… a body that was already on the evolutionary path to ascension; someone who'd be at a state of near ascension.. and she knew that the monks either did not know… or that they just believed that they had more time. Melina knew that they would not be able to finish crating a body. So… so she told Hera to stall Glory without interfering. Melina told Hera she wanted to see how long the monks had but…."

'But?" asked Athena with tears in her eyes.

"But Melina had no intention of simply just checking on the Monks' progress" said Sarah as Athena gasped, "she was preparing to descend; she intended to become the vessel. But Hera must have sensed what she was doing at the last minute and pushed her away. She held Melina against the wall and demanded to know what Melina thought she was doing. Melina knew that it was her who should have descended instead of you all those years ago… and she wanted to… to make amends. She didn't want to place Hera in danger; but Hera told Melina that she didn't want to be alone in the higher plains without her family. That even though she won't remember who you are, you'd still be close by. Don't you understand Athena, Hera descended so that she could be close to you… even if she doesn't remember you, she wanted to be with you; and she wanted Melina watching over the both of you."

"She's not my…. Not the Hera that I know and…."

"I know" said Sarah, "and I'm sorry; you should have seen your mother that day. She told me that in her anger she threw Glory like she was nothing… and that was why she was punished. Melina cried for hours after that, but deep down she knew that even if her two children didn't know who they really were.. they were still together."

"I miss her so much" said Athena as she wiped her tears as she turned back towards the lawn, "I just wish that I never descended… that we were still together as a family."

"Believe me, I know it's hard" said Sarah as Athena nodded her head, "and I know you miss everyone you've left behind. But something's coming, Athena. Please stay, at least until the danger's passed. They'll need your help… and you'll need theirs, I mean.. that's why you're here, right? To regain your memories of Willow? Do you think that it's fair for Willow, if you leave to work with the Asgard while Tara's left behind?"

"She loves Willow" said Athena, "I am not her. I… I am afraid that I will regain Willow's memories.. but not the feeling that she had…. That…"

"Give it time, Athena" said Sarah, "that's all I'm asking. Stay for a little while. Tara will help you, so will your friends…"

"Willow's friends" said Athena.

"Your friends" said Sarah, "you'll remember them.. I mean… you feel the crush and love that Willow had for Xander don't you?"

"A little" said Athena with a small smile, "but there's also a feeling that…. That something's missing."

'It'll all come back" said Sarah, "trust me. They'll come back to you.. your memories I mean. When they do, you'll be whole again. You'll be both Willow and Athena… you'll see. But right now…. You need to talk."

"Huh?" said Athena as she opened her eyes to the rustle of the leaves and the breeze brushing past her as she looked around. Sarah wasn't next to her anymore as Athena heard the door behind her open. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Colonel O'Neill walking out of the door and towards her.. closing the door behind him.

"Hey" said Colonel O'Neill as he walked up to and stood next to the sitting Athena, "can I sit?"

"Yes, of course" said Athena softly as she looked at the older man sit down. It was then she had a feeling that she cared about the man, just as a daughter would for a father. Athena shook her head again and looked out at the lawn while the Colonel began to speak.

"There are some worried folks in there" said the Colonel as he leaned down and picked up some blades of grass from the edge of the lawn, "some ruffled feathers too, but mostly worried… Xander's worried about you, and…"

"I am sorry" said Athena softly as she looked down, "I have always been the emotional one between me and Hera. She was the calm and collected one, at least more than I. She would always be looking to find the good in others. Seeing her again… knowing that she is alive and well but… but not knowing me as who I am…. It pains my heart. It also pains my heart to know that what I said hurt the Slayer and her mother, but…. this is something that…. I know she's my sister, and now I feel like I've lost her once again and…"

"She's your family" said the Colonel as he looked at the lawn, whole occasionally glancing at Athena.

"Yes" said Athena as she wiped her eyes before playing with her thumbs.

"I kinda know how you feel" said the Colonel as Athena tuned her head to face the Colonel, "well, partly anyway. Don't tell Mrs. Summers this, or Xander… Major Rosenberg knows, so does Tara and SG-1. I had a son, Charlie."

"Had?" asked the redhead as she looked at Colonel O'Neill who nodded his head.

"He died" said the Colonel softly as Athena looked down again and closed her eyes, "I was talking with my wife, and Charlie was in the house. I didn't know it but he was in our room and.. and he found my gun box. Next thing I know… there.. there's a shot. I remember it just like it was yesterday, I remember running up the stairs with my wife behind me calling for Charlie. I remember going into the Master bedroom where Charlie was lying in a pool of blood. I've fought in wars, I've seen children die. I knew that Charlie was already gone but I hope that I was wrong. We went to the hospital but he was already dead."

"I am sorry" said Athena as she looked at the Colonel again.

'Things between me and my wife changed that day" said the Colonel, "I blamed myself for his death, and she blamed me… she was right. We drifted apart and… and I even tried ending my own life."

As the Colonel was talking Athena could feel his anguish as she wiped another tear from her eyes.

"One day I was called by the Air Force to oversee something" said the Colonel, "a ring device that was found in Ancient Egypt under cover stones."

"The Stargate" said Athena.

"Daniel activated the gate after so many people failed" said the Colonel, "our duty was to make sure there was no danger to Earth, and if there was.. we were supposed to blow up the Stargate from the other side with a nuclear bomb. The original plan was for me to remain behind…. I wanted to die."

"You did not" said Athena.

"No" replied the Major, "Daniel, and the kids we met on Abydos changed my outlook. I found that there was a way to continue living.. that I had to continue living. We lost some of the kids when we fought Ra, but the Abydonians were free. Ra was dead and they were free…. At least until Anubis killed them all using his mega-weapon."

"I see" said Athena.

"I've known loss" said the Colonel, "so I know how you feel. But I can also tell you that I can't imagine what it must be like for you to see your sister.. because I don't know what I'd do if I saw Charlie again and he didn't remember me. What I do know is that you've got friends and…"

"It's Willow's friends" said Athena.

"Your friends" said the Colonel, "you said it yourself.. you and Willow are the same person. That's why we're here, so that you get your memories back."

"I know why Hera returned" said Athena she looked at the Colonel, "one of the Ascended appeared to me.. she told me what happened."

"You better tell the others too and…"

"No" said Athena shaking her head as the Colonel appeared ready to get up, "I… I do not want to share this with them.. not yet."

"Ok" said the Colonel as he sat back down.

She then told the Colonel what Sarah had told her; with the Colonel listening intently to every word that the redhead was saying. However, he also noticed that while she mentioned her own mother's name, she never said who it was that actually sent her the message.

'That's something that we can find out later' thought the Colonel to himself as he nodded his head at what Athena was telling him about Hera sacrificing herself so that she could become the vessel for the key, and that in some way.. she would be with her sister; even if the two children of Atlantis didn't realize who they really were.

"What're you gonna tell her?" asked the Colonel once Athena stopped talking. The redhead shrugged before she looked at the lawn again, and it was there that the both of them remained for another fifteen minutes in silence while the people in the house would occasionally open the door and peek outside. When that happened, the Colonel would quietly tell them to go back into the house; that Athena would like to be alone for just a little while longer. It was ten minutes later that the SUV that drove them to the Summers house had returned with Daniel and Dawn in the drivers and passenger seats respectively. Athena and the Colonel looked on as they got out of the vehicle with him carrying two bags in one hand, and a tray of four shakes in the other hand while Dawn came around the vehicle with two trays of shakes, one on top of the other. The both of them walked onto the pathway from the pavement to the front of the house.

"Hi Jack, Hi Athena" said Daniel as the redhead and Colonel O'Neill looked at the man, "we thought we'd better bring the food here. So we've got burger, fries, and assorted shakes."

"What are those?" asked Athena looking on confused.

"Oh you're gonna love it" said Dawn excitedly, "there's a way to eat it… you see… you dip the fries into the shake; and then put the shake covered fries into the burger. And then you bite into it… it's really good."

"Weirdo" mumbled Colonel O'Neill as Daniel shook his head before walking up the stairs. Dawn then told Athena and Colonel O'Neill to move it; that the food was getting cold, and that the shakes were getting warm.

"So not the temperature to have them" said Dawn excitedly as she looked at Athena. Daniel was almost at the door when Athena and Colonel O'Neill got up, only for the redhead to grab a hold of Dawn's arm as she walked away from her. Turning around, Dawn looked at Athena while the Colonel stood next to the redhead.

"I apologize, Dawn" said Athena as Daniel too turned around and looked at Athena, "you are not Hera. It was my mistake… you have a similar appearance to her… I… I was just too excited; I did not mean to scare you off."

"It's alright" said Dawn as she walked up behind Athena and gently pushed her towards the front door, "hey, maybe you can tell me about what your sister was like?"

"Ye.. yes" said Athena as Dawn opened the door and stepped aside as Dawn and Athena walked in first. Daniel then turned and looked at the Colonel before asking him quietly if what Athena said was true. The Colonel just shook his head as Joyce walked up to Willow, who apologized to her for causing any distress before telling them that she was wrong about Dawn. It was then that Tara, who was also standing in the foyer while Athena was speaking to Buffy, looked at the Colonel and Daniel who were looking at Athena.

'Athena's lying' thought Tara to herself as she looked at the redhead. The blonde witch could see how much pain Athena was in just by denying the fact that Dawn was her sister. She then looked at Joyce and the others, and then she looked at Athena who turned around and looked back at her. Tara could see the pain and loneliness in her hers eyes just as Dawn, who had already placed the shakes on the dining table, pulled Athena as they sat next to each other.

Even Joyce didn't believe what Athena was saying, but she looked at Buffy, and Xander who readily accepted Athena's apology as if they didn't believe what she told them about what Dawn had said the day she was almost killed by the Knights of Byzantium. She then looked at the smile on Athena's face as Buffy told her that if her sister really did ascend, then she'd like to meet her too… see if she was really similar to Dawn; the smile never reached her eyes which were filled with sadness.

'She's lying' thought Joyce to herself as she looked at Tara, who in turn looked back at the older blonde. Then, as if Tara knew what Joyce was going to ask her; if Willow meant what she told them about Dawn not being her sister, Tara just shook her head. Joyce then saw the looks on Colonel O'Neill's, and Daniel's face and her suspicions were confirmed from their expressions that Athena was lying. She glanced over at Teal'c, but couldn't tell what he was thinking.. the man looked on stoically at Athena just as Dawn called for them.

"Faith, Amy, Giles and Cordy will come later tonight when we'll have some special pizzas" said Dawn as she looked at a surprised Buffy and Joyce, "what? Mom's here for who knows how long.. I mean she could leave tonight or tomorrow morning. And until then, I say we celebrate."

"It's ok with me" said Buffy as she smirked at Dawn, "Dawn can have all the pizza she wants."

"Oh I know why you want me to eat all that" said Dawn as Daniel placed the bags on the table while everyone sat down, "but I should tell you, everything goes where it's supposed to go. Why do you think my boobs are bigger than yours."

At that statement, Athena, Colonel O'Neill, Daniel started to cough hard while Teal'c only looked at the ceiling while Buffy looked at her sister with her mouth hanging open. She was about to say something when Joyce spoke up after shaking her head.

"Girls" said Joyce as she looked at Buffy and Dawn, who was sticking her tongue at the blonde Slayer while Tara took a seat next to Athena. The witch then handed Athena a chocolate shake before taking her own. She then took out a straw and placed it through the top of Athena's cup before putting another one into hers. She then stirred her while Athena followed what Tara was doing, and then took a sip.

"Nice?" asked Tara as the redhead nodded her head.

"What is this?" asked Athena she looked at her cup, and then took another sip.

"Chocolate" said Daniel, "it's made from a type of bean. I'll show you a few when we get back to the SGC."

"And yours?" asked Athena s she looked at Tara while the others started to eat; particularly Xander who proceeded to construct his triple-down special.

"Strawberry" said Tara as she looked at Athena, "would you like to try it?"

"If it is no problem?" asked Athena as Tara smiled and handed the redhead her shake while Joyce handed Teal'c the vegetarian burger.

Athena took a sip while she looked at Tara when suddenly there was another flash of Willow's memory.

"I love you, Will" said Tara as Athena found herself sitting next to the blonde witch as they were on the bench on the observation platform at the top of Cheyenne Mountain, "I know I've said it many times… and.. and I love saying it cause it's true. I know that today's that whole interview thing with the TV crew and all…."

"Oh have you done yours yet?" said Willow as she sipped some strawberry shake that had two straws inside the cup while Tara shook her head.

"Willow" said Tara as she held the redheads hand, "there's something that I wanted to ask you. I mean… I understand if you wanna wait or…. I mean we've been together for a little over four years now and…"

Athena then saw that Willow's phone rang, as did Tara's. It was time for their interview. The memory then faded and Athena found herself looking at Tara while she continued to take a sip. It was then that she felt an intense headache as she let go of the straw and grabbed her head as Xander and Dawn laughed.

"You got brain freeze" said Dawn.

"I assure you that my brain is not frozen" said Athena as she handed the cup to Tara before giving her a small smile.

"I once believed it meant the brain reaching freezing point as well" said Teal'c, "however, in this context… there is a different non-literal meaning."

"We'll talk about that later' said Dawn, "but first, here's my take on Xander's triple-down special…. Elevates it to a higher level."

"No it doesn't" said Xander as he glared at Dawn, "all yours does is add some shake covered fries to the bottom patty."

"And yours is just fries" said Dawn sarcastically as she looked at Xander, "how clever."

"It's a classic" said Xander as he took some fries and placed it below one of the two patty's, "watch this, Athena."

Athena then had a flash of memory as she saw a younger version of herself, Xander and another woman sitting in a booth.

"See, Willow" said the young Xander who had two fries, as did the young Willow with the unknown woman having only one while she smiled at the two children, "you put one third of the fries under the bottom patty, then another third between the two patty's, and the that final third between the top of the bun, and the top patty… there you go, the triple down. And you got some extra fries with that."

"See Beatrice" said Willow as she looked at her nanny, "I told you Xander has some great ideas."

"I know, my dear" said Beatrice as she watched the redhead do what her best friend was doing.

"You showed me the triple-down" said Athena as she looked at Xander, "we were…. I don't know where it was.. but we were with Beatrice…. Beatrice… who was she?"

"Your nanny" said Xander as Athena nodded her head.

"Athena" said Dawn, "Xander's version is so ordinary. Check mine out."

Dawn dipped a third of her fires into the shake before placing the fries where they were supposed to go, with the shake coating the morsels of fried potatoes. Once she was done with putting the friends into the burger, she then took out another large pack and dipped those into the shake before biting into it. She then bit into the burger as everyone looked at her as she chewed the food while she kept her eyes closed.

"Yeah" said Buffy as she bit into her burger while looking at Dawn, "you're officially weird."

"Athena" said Dawn as she turned to the redhead, ignoring Buffy, "can you tell us about your sister? I mean… when you get your memory back and remember me… I'd like to know if there's anything similar than our looks.. you know?"

"Hera" said Athena as she looked at Dawn, "Hera…. Hera was smart, beautiful, a joker. You know what? She used an experimental adhesive from one of the labs in the city where we I grew up to lace the inside of my shoe. Now understand… this liquid looked disgusting…. And it felt disgusting. I put my feet into the shoes while Hera was behind her bed… that time we shared a room… anyway, I could hear her giggle from behind her bed and I knew she was up to something; but by then it was too late. I felt something squishy in my shoe, but I could not take my feet out. They were bonded."

"That happened to me too" said Buffy as Athena looked at her while Dawn nodded her head, "this time it was industrial strength superglue. Mom and Dad had to call the company to get the special solvent."

"Scientists had to actually create a solvent that would dissolve the bonds in my case" said Athena while Tara, and the members of the original SG-1 looked at each other, "that was my sister for you."

"I wanna know more" said Dawn who stuck her tongue out at Buffy before looking at Athena, "I like her already."

"Very well" said Athena nodding her head as she leaned on the table while everyone listened.

TBC.

 


	72. Chapter 72

**The Summers Residence, 2000 hours.**

Athena was sitting on the stairs that led to the backyard as she looked up at the stars in the cloudless sky above her. Smiling as se thought about the view from Atlantis, Athena thought about all those nights when she and Hera would just sit on one of the city's piers and stare at the sky counting the stars together; counting the stars that were surrounding the one that they had always viewed as their mother. The redhead then closed her eyes, sighed and looked at the grass that was right in front of her as she recalled telling Dawn, and the others, about Hera. She gave a small smile when she realized that some of Dawn's memories were just recreated memories of their time on Atlantis.

'These monks that I was told about must have changed the memories that were already in Hera's mind to fit their narrative' thought Athena to herself, 'in addition to creating more memories of her childhood that she didn't have growing up in Atlantis.'

Sighing again, Athena looked at the palms of her hands and concentrated. She remembered the last few years she had spent on Earth before she ascended; she remembered unlocking special abilities which indicated to her that she was ready for ascension, and it was at that time she hurried to find suitable people who would look after Sineya's weapon.

Now, As she looked at the palm's of her hands, she recalled what Thor had told her about her body being genetically engineered to reflect someone who was near ascended. Concentrating, Athena smiled as the area above her palm started to glow as a small orb of swirling energy appeared. However, it was then that she heard the door open behind her and the redhead closed the palm of her hand and the energy dissipated. Looking over her shoulder, Athena smiled at Xander who walked up to, and then sat next to her.

"Here you are" said Xander as he nudged the redhead with his shoulder while she looked at him and gave a small smile before looking at the grass again, "do you remember the incident with the yellow crayon?"

Athena smiled as a memory flashed through her mind of a broken crayon, and Willow crying while Xander tried to console her.

"Yes" said Athena as she looked at Xander, "it was in Kindergarten. Willow… I mean I…. was colouring, colouring… something. I do not remember what it was but I remember the crayon breaking. I remember that I cried, and you were there consoling me."

"It was the first day" said Xander as he reached for Athena's hand and held on tight, "you cried, and were too afraid to tell anyone."

"I told you" said Athena with a smile as she looked at Xander, and then back at the grass again, "I told you and then you gave me yours. Said it was a gift."

"It was" said Xander nodding his head when he saw Athena close her eyes again, and a wide smile, "Athena?"

"I remember telling you that if you wanted a candy bar" said Athena as she looked at Xander with a smirk on her face, "you would have to marry me one day."

"You remember that Halloween?" asked Xander as he rubbed the back of his head while laughing, it was something that made Athena break into laughter as well. The young man recalled the day that the both of them were trick or treating and Xander found something he liked in Willow's candy bag. He told her that he'd trade it for a lollipop, while Willow told him that she'll hand over the candy bar if he agreed to marry her. It was then that they switched the candy bar for the lollipop before the both of the laughed. Xander recalled that he wanted to take a picture of them holding the new results of the trade they just made and had taken out a camera… but they couldn't find anyone to take a picture of just them since the other adults and kids were busy moving from one place to another. However, a female police officer the appeared from the other side of the street to take the picture of the both of them,; the same picture that was in the apartment her shared with Anya, and it's the same picture that was in Willow's house. When Willow recalled all those events too, Xander was grinning at the redhead before telling Athena that he thought the police officer was hot.

"Xander" said Athena as she slapped him gently across his arm while she laughed.

"That's exactly what Willow would do" said Xander as he looked at the redhead, who looked back at him as the both of them smiled at each other. It was then that the door behind them opened again as Joyce popped her head out, smiled at Athena and told her that the other had just arrived.

"Thank you" said Athena as she nodded her head while Xander got up, and then helped Athena stand. The both of them walked into the kitchen through the back door when Willow was hit with a sweet smell in the air. The smell launched another memory of Willow and Buffy looking at an orange coloured pastry that was slightly burnt at the middle, and at the edges. Athena remembered that the both of them looked at each other while Dawn, and Xander were hanging decorations around the house. Then just as the memory came, it was gone.. leaving Athena staring at two of the same orange pastry on two cooling racks.

"Ummm… pie" said Colonel O'Neill as he walked in the kitchen while Joyce chuckled at the way the man said it.

"Every pie should have a slightly burnt edge, and middle" said Athena as she looked up at Joyce who looked back at her in surprise. Joyce then looked at the Colonel before looking at Athena once again while the redhead placed both her hands on the island, "that is what you said. I.. I remember. Buffy and I were right here, Xander and… and Dawn were hanging decorations. And then I remember snow and…"

"Christmas" said Buffy who walked up to Athena from behind, "you're remembering?"

"Yes, a little bit.. here and there" said Athena nodding her head as she looked at the blonde Slayer when there was another flash of memory. Athena remembered the first time that Willow and Buffy met, she remembered being taken as a sacrifice for the Harvest. She remembered Buffy saving her and then the memory faded while Athena looked at Buffy, "what is the Harvest?"

"She remembers some things" said Colonel O'Neill, "but not others."

"Small details" said Xander before he told Athena what the Harvest was while Buffy nodded her head just as the front door opened and three sets of footsteps walked in. Turning around, Buffy walked over through the hallway and into the foyer where Faith was hugging Dawn while looking at Buffy in surprise.

"Hey, B" said Faith as Dawn stepped back and she nodded at Buffy before she smelled the pie in the air, "what're you… wait…. Is that pie?"

"Uh huh" said Buffy as she gently pushed a surprised Faith into the kitchen were her eyes widened in surprise when she immediately saw Joyce. The young woman then went and hugged the older blonde; it wasn't too long before she noticed Colonel O'Neill, and Willow standing in the kitchen looking at her… at least the one she thought of as Willow.

"Hey old man" said the Faith as the Colonel narrowed his eyes at her, before raising his eyebrows at the chuckling Buffy who was standing next to her.

"Sorry, sir" said Buffy as she stopped laughing, while Faith continued to chuckle before she noticed the strange look that Willow was giving her.

"Willow?" asked Faith as Giles, Anya, and Cordelia walked into the house where they immediately spotted Teal'c, Tara and Daniel who were now talking with Xander, who had gone into the living room, while Dawn was hugging Giles, and then Cordelia.

It was later while Daniel, and Teal'c, was greeting Giles and Cordelia that Faith walked closer to a surprised Athena, "Willow?"

"Hi, I'm Faith"

Athena shook her head as another memory flashed when she saw the dark haired young woman walking towards her. Athena remembered watching, as Willow, how the woman walking towards her borrowed a stake from Buffy and then proceeded to kill a vampire outside the Bronze.

"You are Faith" said Athena as Faith stopped, and then looked at Colonel O'Neill and then at Joyce before looking at the one she only knew as Willow. Faith noticed the inflections in her voice as the redhead continued to talk, "you are a Slayer. How can there be two? The ones I came to know as Shadow Men claimed that there would be only one? How can there be another successor of Sineya?"

"Ummmmm" said Faith as she scratched her head in confusion which looking at everyone in the kitchen, and then at Athena, "huh?"

"We've got a lot to talk about" said Colonel O'Neill as he nodded towards the living room.

It was a few seconds later that, once Giles, Anya and Cordelia had welcomed Joyce back home, everyone had taken a seat; Athena was sitting next to Xander and Tara while everyone else was sitting wherever they could while Colonel O'Neill, Daniel and Teal'c stood in one corner. On the coffee table in the middle of the room, was a digital recorder that Daniel told Giles he'll have after they heard what Athena had to say.

"Looks like we're all set" said Giles, "Willow, I guess…."

"Dr. Giles" said Daniel, "there's one thing you need to know first. It's the reason that we've asked all of you here; you know what we really do, so you know the reason why everything we're about to reveal today needs to be kept secret."

"Ok" said Giles as he looked at Faith, who shrugged her shoulders, before looking at Buffy who looked back at him sadly before looking at Willow. He then looked at Joyce who was also looking back at Willow, before she looked at the floor and rubbed her face. It was then that the man knew that something was terribly wrong.

Then Colonel O'Neill confirmed that something was wrong.

He told everyone what happened on P3X-666, he told the shocked newcomers about Willow's death and how she was cloned by the Asgard; and had her memories and consciousness moved from her previous body to the new one.

"But Major Rosenberg wasn't the one who woke up" said the Colonel as he looked at Athena.

"Willow?" asked Cordelia as she looked at the redhead in concern.

They listened in shock at what Athena had to tell them about who she really was, and why she was in Sunnydale in the first place. They listened, especially Giles who was leaning forward stunned, as Athena talked about the Furlings on Earth millions of years ago activating the first Gateway, then she went on talking about her return to Earth and meeting Sineya.

"It's can't be" said Giles as he leaned back into the armchair stunned once Athena finished talking about Sineya, and the Furlings who tricked her before ending with the Weapons that she had handed to the Guardians of the Ones back in ancient Egypt. Athena just looked at the older man has he looked back at her in disbelief while he thought of a response. Buffy had told the redhead that Giles was her watcher; the role that was filled earlier by the Shadow Men that Athena was talking about, "this…. Nothing about this is written in any of the Watcher Diaries. Will…. Athena, are you certain… are you certain of this?"

"I was there when it happened" said Athena as she looked at Giles, "why it is not written in these diaries of yours? That I cannot answer, but I do suspect that the Furlings who forced the demon into Sineya's body would want to let others know that they were the ones alone who created the Slayer. After all, if they included me, then it would mean sharing the credit, which I absolutely refuse to accept, in creating a new weapon."

"Giles?" asked Cordelia as she looked at the older man, "are… are you absolutely sure about this? That it's not written anywhere?"

"Ye.. yes" said Giles, "I've been studying the diaries for a long time, ever since my father placed me into the Watchers Academy, and I can categorically say that there's no mention of any Athena, or clones, or… or anything else extraterrestrial."

"You have the truth now" said Athena as she looked at Giles when she closed her eyes as another memory flashed. Looking at Giles and the others again she told them that she'd have occasional flashes of memories in regards to all of them, "Willow's memories are slowly coming up to the surface, it will take some time for me to remember all of you… but… but I have given you every bit of information I can."

"So we've got no idea when we'll have our Willow back?" asked Faith.

"No" said Buffy shaking her head, "but at least she's alive."

"Yes" replied Tara nodding her head.

**Sunnydale Inn, 0030 hours.**

Athena was in the balcony of her hotel room looking out at the lights of Sunnydale, and enjoying the breeze before heading back inside her room and then sat on the bed. The redhead knew that having all those memories of her life as Willow was confusing her, and her mind was now running at full speed trying to sort out whatever it could in regards to the new memories that were flowing up into her head. Athena wanted to slow everything down.. especially her mind; she remembered the techniques that Oma had taught her on Kheb that was supposed to calm her mind while she sat down cross-legged and closed her eyes. Athena was hoping that she could use this technique to calm down her runaway mind, and get some sleep.

As she closed her eyes to concentrate, Athena heard a soft knock on her door. Looking at the clock on the bedside table that said it was twelve thirty in the morning, Athena frowned and then carried the Asgard crystal behind her back since her shorts didn't have any pockets, and neither did her t-shirt, so that she could speak to whoever it was knocking on the door.

"Hi… hi, Athena" said Tara as a surprised Athena opened the door and looked at the nervous young woman standing in the hallway, "I.. I'm sorry to come so early and… I mean i… I thought you'd want some company so I asked Buffy and Faith to drop me off here before they went for their patrol and…"

"I am sorry" said Athena shaking her head, still in shock about the blonde witch standing outside her room, "but what are you doing here?"

"I.. I couldn't sleep and… I thought I'd get a room in the hotel too and… I mean… I'm a floor down if you wanted to talk" said Tara nervously, "I didn't know you were asleep or awake or…. I'll go I must have woken you up, ummmm… I'm sorry, I…."

"Come in" said Athena as she shook her head and stepped back, and to one side, "it's better to talk inside the room than in the hallways."

"Sorry, again" said a sheepish Tara as she walked into Athena's room. Athena turned on the light before closing the door behind her while Tara stood nervously inside the room. Athena could see the blonde witch playing with her fingers as she looked around, and then at the redhead, "I… I… don't know why I knocked. I mean… I thought you were sleeping and… and I really didn't wanna stay in Buffy's house since I was kinda taking Buffy's spot in her room and… and Amy came by too soon after you left and… I mean I was going to just knock and then walk away but you opened the door and…"

"It is alright" said Athena as she motioned to a chair that she placed in front of her bed, while the redhead sat on the comfortable mattress, "you have to forgive me but, even though I'm slowly getting Willow's memories in flashes… they're very…"

"Jumbled up?" asked Tara as she sat down.

"Yes" said Athena, "I was preparing to do a meditation ritual to clear my mind… it is something that Oma taught me when I was training for my Ascension."

"I can come back later" said Tara as she stood up, "I mean… I should have…"

"I am sorry about the way I have acted around you" said Athena with Tara looking back at her, "you were right in saying that you are just a human with the Furling gene, and that it does not make you a Furling."

"You had a terrible experience" said Tara as she stood with one hand on the back of the chair she was standing next to.

"Would you mind showing me your meditation techniques?" continued Tara as she looked at Athena. The blonde could feel that her heart was pounding in her chest while she asked that question…. And she instantly regretted asking it. Tara was about to take it back when Athena nodded her head and sat to one side on the bed while motioning Tara to take a seat.

Tara just looked at Athena who smiled at her while she got off the bed, and stood in her bare feet. Tara gave Athena a small smile as the redhead took a few steps towards her. Athena then gently held on to Tara's face and looked into her eyes.

"The truth is that I have been getting flashes of memories" said Athena as she caressed Tara's cheeks, "and the ones with you were the most intense ones. I've had memories of Xander, Buffy, Faith, Dawn, Joyce, of my early life in Sunnydale but they are so confusing. But your memories… Tara, I haven't felt the connections with their memories… not the connection that seem to come when Willow's memories of you float to the surface."

"Athena" said Tara as she held on to the redhead's cheeks while Athena wrapped an arm around the witch's waist and pulled her closer, "Athena, I…."

"My mind's on overdrive when I think of you" said Athena as she brushed her fingers on Tara's lips while the witch closed her eyes, "Tara… what.. what happens if I don't get the feelings that Willow has for you and… and what if I have those memories and I want what she had?"

"I.. I don't understand" said Tara as she felt herself being pushed against a wall by Athena, "I… I thought your memories?"

"What if I don't have her feelings?" asked Athena as she kissed Tara's jawline before whispering into her ear, "what if I have her memories of you? Those intense memories that…."

"Athena" said Tara as she closed her eyes and a tear came out while the redhead looked at her, and then caressed her cheeks… wiping away the tear with her thumbs, "I…."

"For all intents and purposes" said Athena as she whispered in Tara's ear, "I'm still Willow… I have her memories. I know how much she loves you. Tara, I can feel it.. my mind's running so fast just sifting through those memories that… that I know the ones about you are so intense. That's how I know that she loves you. If this whole endeavour is unsuccessful… if nothing come out of it. Would you…"

"She'll come back" said Tara as she chocked back a sob when she looked at the sorrow in Athena's eyes, "she'll come back."

"I am her, Tara" said Athena as she kissed the witch's neck, "I have her memories, and my own of when I lived in Pegasus. She loves you and… and I can love you too. When I think of you my heart beats…"

"Athena" said Tara as she shook her head while the redhead was already putting her hand under Tara's shirt, "I…"

"I love you, Tara" said Athena as she looked at the witch.

"Athena… I…" said Tara just as the redhead leaned forward and kissed the blonde witch.

**The Summers residence, 0032 hours.**

Tara jerked her eyes open and found herself in a small darkroom. She was sleeping on one bed, and was someone else on the other bed. Tara looked at the blonde Slayer, who was sleeping with her back to teh witch, and wiped the tears that were falling from her eyes as she recalled the dream that she just had of her and Willow. Tara was trying her best not to sob while thinking about her girlfriend and the fact that the redhead didn't have the memories of what they meant to each other. Tara slowly sat up in bed before she just looked out into the distance as more tears fell down her face which she quickly wiped away wiped the back of her hands.

'It was just a dream' thought Tara to herself, 'but… but what if… what if I don't get Willow back. My Willow, what if I… I don't get her back.'

Stifling a sob so as not to wake Buffy up, Tara got out of bed and tip-toed out of the room; gently closing the door behind her. She knew that everyone was asleep except for Teal'c, who insisted on staying to stay close to Willow and Buffy while they slept. The man had brought his candle with him so that he could Kel'no'reem, which was what Tara was sure he was doing in the basement.

The witch then turn to her right and walked towards the room at the end of the hall where she pushed the door in slightly and saw Dawn and Joyce sleeping on the same bed. Smiling to herself, Tara the headed to Faith's room and opened the door gently open. She knew that Faith was going to be back late since she was patrolling with two Potentials and Anya; so Tara opened the door and saw Athena fast asleep.

Tara just looked at the redhead for a few seconds before she stepped back and closed the door behind her. Walking down the stairs, she knew that Colonel O'Neill and Daniel were staying at the Sunnydale Inn. Tomorrow Daniel was supposed to discuss archaeology with Giles, while Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c was heading to the IPR to handle a few training sessions with the Potential Slayers, and some of the military personnel. In the meantime, she and Athena, along with Xander and Buffy were going to the redhead's house so that they could take a look around… which was Athena's exact words. She hoped that she'd remember more things there… even if she thought she wasn't going to like what she remembered.

Tara headed to the basement door and almost immediately noticed the flickering orange light against the walls of the basement. Not wanting to bother Teal'c, the witch closed the door behind her after she peeked from the top of the stairs and then headed to the fridge before pouring herself a glass of milk. She then took the glass and walked out of the backdoor, and into the yard. She sat down on the stairs and looked up at the stars before taking a sip and then setting the cup on the topmost stair case. She then leaned her body against the banister's frame as she thought about Willow.

She thought about the redhead's smile, he laugh, the way that she'd scrunch up her nose…. Tara missed all of that. And the more she thought about it, the more the tears started to flow from her eyes. Wiping her tears, she just continued to look at the grass which as a gentle breeze rustled the branches of the nearby trees.

Tara then took another sip from the glass before she set it back down. Closing he eyes as she lay her head on the frame of the banister attached to the short stairs, Tara didn't notice the white light that settled next to her… taking form before a woman in a white dress was sitting right next to her, and then took a sip from the glass of milk before gently setting it down again.

"It's always the darkest before the dawn" said the woman as Tara jerked her head up and looked at the woman with her eyes wide open in surprise, "remember I said that to you, sweetheart? A long time ago?"

"M… M…. momma?" said Tara as she looked at the woman sitting next to her.

"Hi Tara" smiled Sarah.

TBC.

 


	73. Chapter 73

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The story 'A New Life' is in fact an AU of this particular chapter.

**Eureka, Illinois, few years ago; 1550 hours.**

Tara had just got back from school as she opened the door to her home, the one place she hated to go above all others. She pushed the door open and expected to hear her father, and her brother shouting at her and her mother about their souls going to hell if they didn't do exactly what they said. Closing the door gently behind her, Tara could hear anything from the house… there was no movement, no smell of cigarettes, or beer, nor was there the smell of pot that her brother would smoke. Tara looked around confused, usually there would be someone at the house.. usually her mother, but there seemed to be no-one at home.

The young sixteen year old girl walked up the stairs to the second floor and then turned left to head into her small room. She sighed at her bed and then at her barren room before she placed her bag on the mattress. She then looked at the picture of her mother and her hugging each other, the older female smiling at the camera during an outing to a lake a year ago. The young girl then walked out of her room and headed back down the stairs to start her chores; chores that she had to finish before starting on her homework. She saw the pile of dishes in the sink and proceeded to wash them before she went back up after thirty minutes where she grabbed the laundry hamper and picked up her father's, and brother's dirty clothes. Today was her turn to wash the clothes and do the dishes while her mom was supposed to cook.

Tara picked up the clothes and thought about her cousin Beth, the other one who seemed to have the favour of her father and brother; especially since she was from her father's side of the family. She was her father's only niece, and she was the favourite… even above her own daughter.

'Cause she doesn't have the demon in her' Tara recalled Teddy telling her one day before he pointed at her, but you do. You and your satan worshipping mother.'

The young girl sighed before carrying the hamper of dirty clothes down the stairs and then, once she reached the foyer, Tara turned and walked into the hallway toward another door under the stairs. Balancing the hamper, Tara used one hand to twist the knob and open the door. However, once the door opened, she was surprised to see that the light in the basement was one.

It was then a stench wafted into her nostrils.

The stench of iron and something burning hung in the air. Tara covered her nose and walked down cautiously while still balancing the hamper against her waist and her arm. At first, while she walked down the stairs, Tara thought that perhaps it was a dead raccoon… or some other animal.

That she could have handled.

But that wasn't what she saw.

What she saw made her world implode. Tara dropped the hamper onto the floor as she brought both of her hands to her mouth and screamed. She could feel the tears falling from her eyes as she saw the pool of blood under the figure that was lying on the floor, the head turned to look at her with eyes that were clouded over.

"Momma!" screamed Tara as she ran to Sarah's body. Tara didn't care that she was stepping in blood; her mother's own blood, as she went down on both knees and cradled her mother's body in her arms, "momma, wake up.. wake up!"

While she was sobbing, Tara felt her arm getting wet. She looked down and saw that the back of Sarah's head was bloodied, and it was then that she noticed the gun on the floor. Seeing the gun through tear stained eyes, and then back at her mother again, caused the young woman to scream.

Tara would spend twenty minutes with the body of her mother in her arms while she cried. She was calling out for Sarah, hoping that this was all an illusion when the girl felt a light wind caress her cheeks. Tara then wiped her eyes and looked around while still holding on tight to Sarah's body before she shouted into thin air.

"You can't have her" said Tara to non-one in particular, "you can't have her!"

Tara then looked down at her mother, who was looking back at her through lifeless eyes, and begged her to smile.

"Smile, momma" said Tara her voice continuing to break, "please, smile."

It was then that Tara realized her mother was gone.

She'd always asked Sarah to smile, and no matter what happened with Teddy and Donnie, and later Beth who put the both of them down, Sarah would always smile for Tara.

The blonde witch then gently placed the body of her mother down before closing her eyelids and then slowly stood up, with blood stains on her jeans covered legs and bare feet. Tara then turned, all life gone from her eyes, before she trudged towards the stairs and then walked up to the main floor.

She had to call the police.

However, Tara never saw two lights appear in the basement as soon as she was gone and making the call for the police to come. The two lights grew brighter and brighter until they formed into two young women; one was a redhead, and the other was a light brunette haired young woman.

"She is alone now" said the light haired woman as she looked sadly up the stairs.

"You have always had a soft spot for children, Ganos" said the redhead as she looked at Sarah's body, "but you are right, this one would have eventually attained enlightenment."

"Yes" said Ganos before she looked at the stairs, "and I believe so would have her daughter. She has taught her well. But for now, I feel Sarah Maclay is worthy of ascension. She had good in her, Melina… I believe that…"

"I know" said Melina as she looked at Ganos, the Ascended being who was once Morgan Le Fay, before looking at Sarah's body, "you know my feelings on this. I am in agreement with you, she deserves ascension."

Ganos crouched down and then placed her hand over Sarah's body. Her hand then glowed for a few seconds, as did Sarah's body before Ganos got back up and stood back with Melina.

"She will ascend once these people have completed their burial rites" said Ganos as she looked up at the staircase, "I worry about the girl."

"She will face hardship and sorrow" said Melina as she closed her eyes while Ganos looked on, "but she will also find great happiness; she will find people who care for her, and people she will care about."

"You have seen it" said Ganos as Melina nodded her head after opening her eyes.

"We must go" said Melina, "we have spent…"

"I will remain out of her sight and senses until the law enforcement officials arrive" said Ganos, "she cannot be alone."

"Very well" said Melina nodding her head as she looked at Sarah's body again, "I…. I think I will go see Athena."

**The Summers Residence, 0035 hours.**

The last time she cried this much was the day that Sarah died.. the day the witch found Sarah's body in the basement. Tara felt her tears travel down her cheeks while a lump was caught in her throat as she hugged the woman who was sitting next to her. Tara could smell the same vanilla scented shampoo she used to wear when she was alive, and it brought back memories of just being in her mother's arms.

"Momma" said Tara in a broken voice while she felt Sarah rubbing her back with one hand, and stroking the back of her head with the other.

"It's me, Tara" said Sarah as she held her daughter tightly, "I'm so sorry I couldn't… I… I've been watching you for a long time and you've made me so proud sweetheart. I… I just couldn't… there are s many times that I wanted Teddy to pay fro the things he aid and made you do. But if I interfered, then the others would have taken me away from you… I wouldn't have been able to see you again for who knows how long. But despite of what Teddy, Donnie and Beth did.. look at you."

Sarah then pulled back and caressed Tara's face while wiping her daughter's tears, and her own.

"Look at you, sweetie" said Sarah with a smile that made Tara's heart jump; the smile that she missed, the smile that told her that no matter what happened.. Tara would always be loved by her, "such a beautiful, smart, and adventurous young woman."

"I.. I.. I missed you so much" said Tara as she wiped her eyes and then looked at Sarah again, "I…."

"I saw what Teddy, Beth and Donnie tried to do a few years ago" said Sarah, "I also saw what your fiends did to save you. I saw Willow protect you, I saw…"

"Oh, Willow" said Tara as she wiped her eyes while laughing, "I should introduce you… oh you know Willow… you know her mother? And…."

"We're tight" said Sarah as she laughed while Tara giggled, "I didn't know her when she was Athena… but I knew Dawn when she was Hera. That little trickster."

Tara just giggled while holding onto her hand.

"I saw how upset you were" said Sarah as she looked at Tara, who slowly stopped giggling and then nodded at her mother, "I wasn't sure if it would be right for me to intervene and…. anyway, I did… I mean, I am."

"I'm just glad to see you" said Tara as Sarah smiled. Tara then looked back at the door behind her, and then at her mother, "can you…. I mean… about Athena.."

"I can't, sweetie" said Sarah while Tara nodded her head and looked down as the grass, "but it's not over. She's getting her memories back slowly but…"

"She not feeling the emotions" said Tara softly.

"Tara" said Sarah as she gently guided Tara's face towards hers, "it takes time. What she's going through…. It's new for her."

"I know" said Tara.

"You love her" said Sarah, "I know that too. But… but things are going to get harder. Tara, to get her back… you'll have to lose her."

"Momma?" asked Tara as she looked at Sarah with confusion showing on her face, "what do you mean I'll lose her?"

"You'll be alright" said Sarah as she kissed Tara's forehead, "I need you to believe in yourself, and believe in Willow. Tara, can you do that?"

"Momma" said Tara.

"You need to trust yourself" said Sarah, "you need to be brave. For what's coming, all of you need to be brave… and… and I know you will. I've seen you fight those aliens when the SGC was invaded… I saw how brave you were. I saw how brave you are every time you go through the Stargate, and I've seen how brave you were when you didn't interfere during Dr. Jackson's ascension… oh.. speaking of whom. Is he single?"

"Momma!" said Tara with her eyes wide open as she leaned back; the expression on her face making Sarah laugh.

"Oh come now" said Sarah as she leaned forward, "next time you see him, tell him I said he has a nice butt. All of us saw Oma send him down naked on Vis Uban."

"Momma!" said Tara as she covered her ears with her hands, "I will not tell him that… eww…."

Sarah started to giggle hard before she leaned forward and hugged Tara.

"I love you so much, sweetie."

"I miss you, momma" said Tara as she held onto Sarah tightly.

"But I need to go, I can't spend much time here" said Sarah s she looked at Tara again, "just remember what I said about Willow… have faith that everything will work out; but no matter what happens… you'll still have to lose her to get her back."

"But…" sad Tara as she looked at her mother. She wanted to say something more but she knew that Sarah wouldn't answer her. So Tara shook her head and then asked her the one question that she knew in her heart was true, it's just that she needed to hear it from Sarah, "momma, did dad murder you?"

"Tara, how I died doesn't matter and…"

"It does to me" said Tara, "I…."

"There's no proof" said Sarah as she shook her head, "Tara, I…"

"Please, momma" said Tara, "for my piece of mind…. Please. Did dad do it?"

"It… it's complicated" said Sarah.

"Please, I need to know" said Tara, "I need to know, momma."

Sarah looked at her daughter and knew that Tara wouldn't stop asking her this question. She knew that she could just turn into a ball of light and leave, but that would also hurt her daughter deeply. So Sarah just took a deep breath and told Tara what happened earlier that day.

"I came home with the groceries with Teddy" said Sarah as she tightened her hand on Tara's hands, "it was my turn to cook so… anyway, we walked in and we heard a girl's laughter from upstairs. I recognized that laugh anywhere… it was Beth. I put away the groceries and then gave your father a can of beer while he sat on the couch. I went up to change when I heard something that a mother should never have to hear."

**Eureka, Illinois, few years ago; 1200 hours.**

"Donnie" said Sarah as she pushed the door open when she heard a scream from inside, "what the…. Oh god!"

Sarah had believed that Beth was in the guest room talking on her phone, she never expected the sight before her with her niece in bed with her top off and her son, who also had his top off, kissing her neck. The both of them separated and looked at Sarah as if they were deer looking at headlights. Sarah herself felt disgust and anger as she screamed at both Donnie and Beth, both of whose faces turned to anger at the older woman.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" shouted Sarah as she rushed forward and grabbed Beth's arm and pulled her out of bed before throwing her shirt to her, "put that damn thing on. You're going back to…"

"Shut it, demon" said Donnie as he got off his bed and put on his shirt, "demons don't have a say in this house."

"I'm your mother and you will listen…."

"Dad!" shouted Donnie before he grinned at Sarah who looked at him in anger. She could feel the magical energy building inside her as she looked at her son, and then at her niece and thought horrible thoughts about what they could have done to Tara.

"Did you touch your sister?" asked Sarah as she glared at Donnie who looked back at her in disgust, "tell me!"

"She's a demon" said Donnie, "of course I'd never touch her."

"What the hell are you…" said Teddy as he rushed up and saw his niece put her shirt on while glaring at Sarah, before he looked at his son who looked back at him and shrugged his shoulders, "damn it, Donnie. What did I tell you?"

"Teddy?" asked Sarah as she turned around with surprise on her face to see her husband rubbing his forehead in frustration before he looked straight at her, "you.. you knew about this?"

"This is why I told you I'll give you money to do what you want" said Teddy as he pointed at a disgusted Sarah while looking at Donnie, "this is why I told you to go to a motel, even when we're not at home… you idiot!"

"Sorry Uncle Ted" said Beth in a sweet voice.

"Did you touch Tara?" asked Sarah as she looked at her husband, "Teddy! Did you…."

"She's a demon" said Teddy, "and she's my daughter…. So no."

"And you… you knew about Donnie and… oh God… you knew about Beth and… I'm going to the police.. I.."

"No" said Donnie as he pushed Sarah from the back. The older woman crashed into Teddy who turned her around and then put an arm around her waist while covering her moth with the other hand, "you think police will listen to a spawn of Satan?"

"We need to get rid of her" said Beth, "I want Tara here to look after you two after I leave, if she tells the police then she'll take our Tara away."

"She'll stay here" said Teddy as Sarah squirmed in his arms, "that little demon will be cooking and cleaning around here from now on."

"Good" said Donnie as he glared at his mother who shook her head while tears came out of her eyes.

Sarah knew that she had the magic to kill the three of them if she had to, but she couldn't bear to use her powers against her own family; not even to push Teddy away. She knew that if she used her powers, then Tara will pay for her mistake. Sarah could see it in Donnie's eyes, the murderous look as he glared at her.

"Get my gun" said Teddy while he tightened his grip around the petite young woman before he pulled her back and forced her down the stairs; threatening to kill Tara if she screamed or escaped. Beth, and soon, Donnie met with Teddy who still had his hand around the woman's mouth in the basement while she cried, the tears landing on his hand.

"Give me the gun" said Beth as she took the weapon from Donnie while looking at him and licking her lips before turning around and then smiling at her aunt, "you and Tara, think that you're so special just because you're demons. Unbelievable… abominations from God."

Beth stepped back just as Sarah kicked out as her and screamed in a muffled voice.

"Feisty" said Beth as she looked at the gun, "I'm the one who doesn't belong here. Donnie spirited me here, and he and Uncle Ted can hide me away in the car, and take me home. I'll tell my parents that you and Tara were busy with… whatever it is that you do to call Satan. So Uncle Ted, Donnie and I went camping. They won't have any evidence that they shot you… and no one will suspect me so…."

"I know something better" said Donnie with a grin as he approached Sarah, "you'll put the gun into your mouth, and then you'll pull the trigger. You'll go back to your master because… well, you think heaven takes in women who commit suicide?"

"I'll kill you" said Sarah as she finally used magic to push Teddy off her, "I'll kill all of you and…"

"Then do it" said Teddy as she turned Sarah around roughly, "do it then… witch."

"Demon" said Donnie mockingly as Sarah turned to look at him.

"Demon Devil Spawn" said Beth as Sarah turned to her and narrowed her eyes in disgust.

"You're the ones who sinned" said Sarah as she looked at the three of them, "all of you… and you dare call me a sinner? Surrender yourselves to the police. You said you didn't touch Tara, turn yourselves in and… and I'll say that you've got a disease that…"

"No" said Donnie as he walked over to Beth and grabbed the gun away from her, and pointed it at Sarah, "you are going to put this in your mouth, and kill yourself. You've been so depressed lately that you couldn't take it anymore… you wanted to leave the world."

"I…." said Sarah.

"Or else" said Teddy as Sarah turned around.

"Or else I'll suddenly have an appetite for demons" said Donnie as Sarah looked back at him with eyes wide open in shock. Teddy then stood next to Beth before telling her that she knew too much, that she was the bigger danger now.

"Tara's just a thing" said Teddy, "you kill yourself… she won't be harmed. She'll do the cooking and cleaning but she won't be harmed. You think I wanted to deposit my seed in you in the first place? I wanted children who I could tempt away from Satan. I hoped that maybe they'll change you…. but obviously it didn't. You still have the power of a demon and…"

"I'll kill you" said Sarah as she raised her hand as her pupils turned white and blue magical energy gathered in the air, before it crackled in the palm of Sarah's hand, "you touch Tara… you even look at her, I will kill you. Then we'll see who goes to hell."

"Try it, mommy" said Donnie mockingly as Sarah aimed the energy at her son, "come on, kill me."

Sarah wanted to fire the energy bolt she was gathering. She saw her son, and she wanted to fire. She then imagined him as a baby that she'd carry in her arms while her husband would just lay about after work and demand beer, food, or attention. As she looked at Donnie, she remembered the little boy whose first words were 'mamma'; she remembered the giggle, and the smile as she used to carry him in her arms. Tears fell from Sarah's face as she looked at her son and remembered his first steps that were towards her, she remembered kissing his first 'boo-boo' and telling him that the pain would go away. It was during his fifth year that things changed.

Teddy had gotten to him and soon the Donnie that Sarah knew was gone.

But he was still her son.

"You're my son, Donnie" said Sarah her voice breaking as she pointed the bolt at her son, "you're my baby."

"If you can't kill me, then kill yourself" said Donnie as Sarah cried, her heart breaking as she realized that if she killed her family, then she'll be the prime suspect and Tara would be taken away from her, and put into the foster system while she served time in jail. She could just freeze them all in place, but that would only be temporary. They would go to the police and say that she kidnapped Tara, and Sarah would be looking over her shoulders for the rest of her life; that was not the life she wanted for Tara, neither was this. But if Sarah wanted Tara safe, then she had no choice.

"Tell me that Tara will be safe" said a broken Sarah as she lowered her arm, while tears continued down her face, "tell me. Swear it!"

"As if I'd touch her" said Donnie in disgust while wiping the gun, and then wrapping it in a rag that Teddy picked up from a side table and handed to his son, "now, you know what to do. Mom."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be a better mother" said Sarah as she looked at the gun, "and…"

"Just kill yourself already" said Beth as she yawned.

Sarah looked at Teddy, Donnie and Beth before looking at the gun. She put the grip in the palm of her hand and then put her fingers around the handle and held it tight. She knew it would be so easy to just kill all of them, but then she'd be running with Tara for the rest of her life. Forced to again look over her shoulders for a long time while police came after her.

Constantly looking over her shoulders.

'I have no family' thought Sarah to herself, 'no one to help me, or Tara.'

Sarah closed her eyes and started to whisper in Latin.

"Tellus dea, ignosce mihi quid faciam. Dea, audire vocem meam. Vigila Tara filia, nihil de ea diluunt peccata mea. Habeat vitam ab hominibus exeat locum deducere et lucens" said Sarah while her eyes remained closed and her family looked at her confused, "Ad locum reperiat diligere poterit et locus in quo verum. Locus ubi protegatur. Ut tenebras non venit super eam, ut vere promittere possit radiata luce."

"What did you just say?" demanded Teddy as Sarah smiled at him before raising the gun.

"Vale, Tara" said Sarah in Latin before a shot rang out.

The three of them heard the shot, and then smiled as the body fell to the ground.

"I'm hungry" said Donnie as he looked at the others.

"Let's go" said Teddy as he led them up the stairs while blood pooled under Sarah's body. She'd remain there until Tara returned and found her body.

**The Summers Residence, 0045 hours.**

"No… no… no" said Tara as she shook her head, her face in shock about what she had just heard, "no.. momma, no…."

"I'm sorry, honey" said Sarah as she caressed Tara's cheeks, "I.. I didn't know what else to do and…"

"Momma" said Tara as she hugged Sarah again tightly, "I'm so sorry. I…"

"Shhh, silly girl" replied Sarah as she smiled while she lay her chin on Tara's shoulder as they continued to hug, "none of this was your fault. After… after what happened, I suddenly saw white. White everywhere and I was warm. Two beings just appeared in front of me, and.. and I thought they were representatives of the goddess of Light. They told me that they weren't, that they were part of a larger collective offering me a way to let go of who I used to be. They told me that I had to let go, that you were with the police…. You were talking to them."

"I wasn't" said Tara shaking her head while she lay her head on Sarah's shoulder.

"You were" said Sarah.

"I was ascended the day I was buried" continued Sarah, "the first thing I did was come visit you with two other ascended beings, Melina and Ganos."

"Willow's mom? And?" asked Tara as she looked at Sarah.

"Ganos was the one who ascended me. " said Sarah, "she loved children and… and knew that you'd one day become worthy of ascension. But she and Melina were there the day I died, Ganos stayed with you after you found my body. She stayed by your side during the time the police questioned you, and even after Teddy, and Donnie returned with Beth. After I was ascended, I'd always come visit you. Always come stay next to you when you cried, always watching over you while you slept. Teddy, and Donnie kept their promise… they never hurt you. But I never looked in on Donnie since he would.. well, lets just say he never did that in the house again."

Sarah continued saying that then she saw Tara pack her bags two years later in the middle of the night while Teddy was drunk and asleep, and Donnie and another girl were in a motel. She said that she willed Tara on as she carried her acceptance letter to U.C. Sunnydale and put it in her pocket, together with the letter that stated she had a full scholarship.

"I saw you run into the cab waiting outside the house and then head off into your future" said Sarah, "I know how nervous you were. I saw you meet Willow, and I was so happy when you hit it off. Melina and I knew that you loved each other almost immediately, and I was so happy for you. I saw everything, including Teddy and the others coming after you… I saw your friends protecting you and Willow… Dear Willow."

"She saved my life" said Tara nodding her head.

"I knew you were happy after that" said Tara, "I knew you'd be safe. That's the first time I left the planet with Melina and Hera – Dawn – and Ganos, by our side too while we travelled from one planet to another. New worlds, new civilizations…. It was like living in an episode of Star Trek; which by the way apparently Melina and Ganos hasn't seen.. yet."

Tara laughed as she looked at her mother and imagined the three of them in a theater watching Star Trek while eating popcorn.

"There's the laugh and the smile I love so much" said Sarah as she caressed Tara's cheek, "what happened, happened Tara. Don't blame yourself, and don't seek revenge on Teddy, Donnie, and Beth."

"Momma" said Tara softly.

"No" said Sarah shaking her head, "promise me you won't do anything to them. They're already paying for their crime in trying to kill you, Willow.. and the murder of that guard. So I don't want you to do a thing, promise me."

"I promise" said Tara nodding her head.

"My daughter" said Sarah as she gave a wide smile, "Willow and Athena are one and the same, Tara. Athena's been around for a long time, and… well.. where she's from is kinda cool. Melina took me there and.. well, you'll find out one day. Anyway, talk to her about the things that Oma taught her… it's something that the both of you would have in common. It's important especially now, now since you know what happened to me."

"I will" said Tara.

"I have to go, sweetie" said Sarah as she looked into Tara's eyes, "the Others are kinda complaining that I'm spending too much time here."

Tara nodded her head and wiped her eyes as Sarah told the young woman she loved her.

"I love you too" said Tara as she kissed Sarah's cheek. Sarah then lifted the cup of milk and drank it before grinning at Tara, who laughed at her mother's milk moustache.

"Now, wake up" said Sarah as Tara jerked awake and rubbed her back while scrunching her face in pain from sleeping against the frame of the banister on the stairs. Groggy, Tara looked around and found that she was on the stairs as she looked out into the backyard as the first rays of light appeared in the sky. With half opened eyes looking around, Tara wondered if what she had been through was another dream. However, she then looked to her right side and noticed that the full cup of milk that was there when she fell asleep, was now empty.

"I love you, momma" whispered Tara with a smile as a gentle wind brushed past the witch. She then slowly got up after picking up the empty cup from the wooden deck. She finally knew what happened to her mother, and Tara also knew that Sarah was still alive; in a fashion.

'Time for a new day' thought Tara to herself as she gently closed the backyard door behind her, 'now we get Willow back, then after that… I'm paying visit to my dad. Don't worry mom, I'm not going to do anything. Just tell that man that I know what he did. I want to see his face, then I'll see Donnie and Beth. I'm not afraid of them… not anymore. But first, Willow… I get my love back. I don't know what you meant by I'll have to lose her to get her back… but I'm not losing her. I'll help her, we'll help her. Everything will be alright… everything will be alright.'

TBC

**A/N:** Sorry about not translating the Latin part of the chapter. Knew I forgot something after the review from .

Here's the English version; which I'm surprised when you translate the Latin version back to English, it's slightly different.

"Goddess of the Earth, forgive me for what I have to do. Goddess of of Light, hear my plea. Watch over my daughter Tara, may none of my sins wash down on her. Let her live a life away from these people, let her leave this place with a shining light to guide her away. Away to a place where she can find people to love her, and a place where she could love. A place where she will be protected. May the darkness never come upon her, may she radiate the light."

"Goodbye, TAra."

 


	74. Chapter 74

**The Summers Residence, 0700 hours.**

Athena opened her eyes slowly to the smell of something delicious, a smell that she knew she recognized and had a sudden flashback to, before she smiled as she lay on her back and looked at the ceiling. She recalled coming to Buffy's house in Willow's early years when she, the Slayer, and Xander would have pancakes and eggs cooked by Joyce. That flashback was soon tempered by a flashback of Athena waking up in her room in Atlantis before she got out of bed in her bare feet and walked towards a side wall that had a blue coloured panel to the left side. She remembered waving her hand over the panel, which made the wall slide to the right to reveal a balcony that looked out into the bright Lantean day as the clouds in the sky were reflected on the surface of the ocean that Atlantis lay on.

Shaking her head as she slowly sat up back in the present day, Athena wiped her eyes before stretching her arms over her head and giving out a yawn. She knew that today was the day she was supposed to travel with Xander, Buffy, and Tara to her home; to Willow's home in the hope that she'd get most of her memories back.

As Athena got off the bed in her plain black T-Shirt and shorts, she headed towards the mirror in the room and looked at herself. Almost immediately she had flashes of memories about herself, a younger version of herself, being left along in the house with Beatrice; and then eventually being left alone in her home after her parents would go for some conference or another… or teaching in various universities as guest professors. Athena remembered the sense of loss and loneliness from being alone for so many years.

'There was something else' thought Athena to herself as she recalled a ball of light appearing at her most loneliest times, always from the corner of her eye, 'a light… my light… Willow's light.'

Athena shook her head as she turned and went on to put on a fresh set of clothes and trousers, as well as putting the Asgard crystal translator into her pocket, before she washed up in the restroom. Once that was done, she headed down the stairs while hearing Dawn complaining about why she had to go to school.

"Willow obviously needs our help" said an impassioned Dawn, "and all of us should help her, especially me and so…"

"You're still going to school" said Joyce as Athena lightly chuckled at Dawn's response. Athena then walked down the remaining steps before she walked down the hallway, and into the kitchen when she saw Tara and Dawn sitting at the island with Buffy on the other side facing them. She saw that Teal'c had a plated piled high with pancakes and gave a little smile before she looked at Joyce who smiled back at the redhead before nodding at the empty seat next to Buffy.

"Morning, Athena" said Dawn just before she took a bite of her pancakes.

"Hello" said Athena as she nodded her head and sat next to Buffy. Athena and the others had spent the rest of the time talking after Dawn had left for school. The younger Summers asked when Athena and the others would be leaving, and was downbeat to know that this would most likely be their last day in Sunnydale given that Joyce needed to return to Edina, and Buffy and SG-1 had some missions lined up. Athena and Buffy had seen Dawn's face fall upon hearing that this would be the last day in Sunnydale s the Slayer told Dawn that since she had a break coming up in a month, that she should come down to Colorado Springs.

"Yea, Dawnie" said Tara as she spoke gently to Dawn before she left the house after saying that she's definitely coming to visit them. She also let it be known that under no circumstances were they to leave without saying goodbye; at least in the event that they have to leave while she was at school.

"We'll have dinner first, sweetie" said Joyce as she kissed the top of Dawn's head.

It was nearly an hour later that Xander arrived at the Summers home, followed soon by Daniel and Colonel O'Neill. It wasn't too long later that the Colonel, Teal'c and Daniel headed to the IPR while Buffy, Tara, Xander, and Athena entered another car that the young man was driving; their destination was Willow's house. Joyce was the only one left in the Summers house as she leaned against the door frame and waved at Buffy and the others as they drove off.

IN the car that Xander was driving, Athena was seated next to Tara in the back seat while Buffy was in the passenger's seat talking with Xander about how he and Anya were doing; jokingly asking him if he proposed yet. While the young man gasped, and coughed nervously, Athena glanced over at Tara; she was able to tell that something was wrong with the witch. It was then Athena had another flash memory of Tara before shaking her head and leaning towards the blonde witch and asking her if everything was alright.

"Oh" said Tara shaking her head as if she was in a daydream before nodding her head at Athena, "ye.. yes… I… no…

"I may not have all of Willow's memories yet" whispered Athena as she looked at Tara, "but if you would like to speak then… I am here; I will listen."

"Thanks" nodded Tara, "I.. I would like to talk and… and I was hoping that maybe we could after we get back to Colorado Springs? It… it's about the training you received with Oma."

"Alright" said Athena as she looked confused at Tara. The young redhead couldn't help but continue looking at the blonde witch beside her who was now just looking out the window at the houses that they were driving past. She could feel a pain in her chest as she looked at her hair, and then at her shoulders, and then at her lips when the witch sensed that she was being watched.

"Athena?" asked Tara as she turned towards the redhead, who suddenly looked away.

"I hope I can gain more of my memories from visiting Willow's home" said Athena as she glanced at Tara, before looking away again.

**SGC, three Months later.**

With the trip to Willow's childhood home a bust for Athena, they returned to the SGC the next day with Joyce leaving for Edina, and Athena being consigned to being a consultant temporarily until she got back all of her memories. General Hammond had told the redhead that while her getting some of Willow's memories were a good sign, the fact was that she didn't have any of her recent memories in regards to operations and, most importantly, the knowledge of how she and SG-1 used to work together. The General did tell her that she'd have re-qualify for Gate travel, as well as for the use of weapons off-world. So while Buffy, and SG-1, were going off world… Tara and Athena would often times meditate together after the blonde witch asked about the training she received from Oma. Tara told Athena that she hoped to learn from her since she needed to center herself again, which left Athena looking at Tara confused.

Athena could tell that there was something that the witch was leaving out as to why she really wanted to learn how the redhead was trained, but she decided to let it go for now; that Tara would tell her when the time was right.

While Athena was stuck in the SGC, she slowly received more and more of Willow's memories. She helped Major Carter with work on re-engineering the Kull armour for human use though her knowledge of biology from being a geneticist on Atlantis, and Willow's slowly emerging engineering experiences. The redhead had told the Major that there was a way that they could make the device work on humans, and it wasn't too long before she, Dr. Fraiser, and the Major had taken plans of a suit that would be worn underneath the armour to protect the wearer from any adverse effects such as heat build-up occurring from the armour absorbing energy weapons fire.

General Hammond could see that Athena was slowly getting back into the swing of things despite not having all of Willow's own memories. He had received reports from Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter that despite not having Willow's memories, Athena had her experiences; that they could have miscalculated in grounding her. He had even talked to Buffy and Tara privately about Athena and asked their opinion on what was happening with the redhead. However, there was something else that everyone agreed on; that even though Athena had been getting Willow's memories back slowly, and she had some of her experiences in dealing with tactics, technology, and operations of the SGC… she still wasn't emotionally invested in those memories.

However, all of that was about to soon change.

It was a few days following the inauguration of the newest President, Henry Hayes, that Athena had met SG-1 in the briefing room. She was working on something that Willow was working on before her accident, a more efficient sublight engine, before she was called by Major Carter and Buffy.

"Athena" said General Hammond as he motioned for her to take a seat after she arrived in the briefing room with Major Carter and Buffy, "what can you tell us about the Ancient repositories of knowledge."

"They contain millions of years worth of.. well… everything" said Athena, "we had them placed in Pegasus after we arrived in that galaxy so that we could leave something behind for our descendents; our knowledge and our history. It is the same for the repositories in this galaxy. However, I do not believe that humanity has evolved to the point where they could hold all that information… I doubt that anything other than an Alterran computer or an Asgard computer could hold all that information."

"I did" said the Colonel as Athena looked at him in surprise, "it nearly killed me but yea, I took it into my head."

"Amazing" said Athena as she looked at the Colonel as she mentally kicked herself for not remembering that detail, "and you are still alive."

"The Asgard took the information out o his mind" said Major Carter.

"I see" replied Athena again, "even so, the fact that you were able to hold that massive amount of information for as long as you did is amazing all in itself."

"Thanks" said the Colonel proudly.

"Athena" said the Major, "one of our teams have found a repository. We think that Anubis is going after it since the team destroyed a probe he sent."

"And you wish to know if there is a way to extract that information?" asked Athena while General Hammond nodded his head, "perhaps there is. I.. I would need to travel to that world and look at the device myself. I have some knowledge… limited it may be… but with Willow's experience with engineering, I may be able to find a way to extract the crystals."

"Can't you just tell us?" asked Buffy.

"I would have to look at the device myself" said Athena as she looked at everyone, especially at Tara. Athena knew that, although she had reservations about the witch immediately after she was cloned, the time that they had spent together working and training had given the redhead some semblance of peace. Athena would look at Tara and her heart would race; however, the redhead also knew that she was getting those feelings… intense feelings for the blonde witch, from Willow's deep seeded feelings for her. Athena didn't tell the witch that she had memories of them together, but she couldn't feel the emotional connection with her…. or with the others in SG-1.

The truth was that Athena had gotten back a majority of Willow's memories. But she never had the emotional connection that was supposed to come with those memories. She would see Buffy and remember everything she had been through with her, but Athena didn't feel the fear when Angel had captured her following his transformation into Angelus where she almost bit into her; she didn't feel jealousy when Buffy started to patrol with Faith, or when she had caught Xander kissing Cordelia.

Athena knew that she should have feelings about those but she didn't; and it frightened her.

Then there was Tara.

Athena looked at Tara and remembered their first date; she remembered their courtship and the first time they had slept together. Athena could remember every touch, every gentle kiss that happened between them but there were no emotions behind those actions. She looked at the Major and remembered working together. She could see how excited Willow was as the both of them discussed new technologies that they brought through the Stargate… but Athena didn't feel that excitement.

She just knew it was there.

In actuality, a plan had formed in Athena's mind almost immediately after General Hammond and the others told her about Colonel O'Neill having the repository downloaded into his mind. Athena believed that what she probably needed to regain all of Willow's memories at once, as well as the emotions that accompanied those memories, was a massive shock to her mind.

'What better shock than to have the entire Alterran Repository downloaded into my mind' thought Athena to herself; which was the main reason why she then told Buffy that she would need to look at the device herself.

General Hammond then looked at Tara who was looking at Athena with her eyes narrowed in confusion at the redhead. The General knew about Tara's ability to read aura's, and how she could tell if someone was lying or otherwise being deceptive; so he asked her if everything was alright.

"Umm" said Tara as Athena looked back at her. Tara could see that the redhead's eyes were telling the witch not to give her away, so the blonde witch turned to the General and told her that nothing was the matter. She then looked back at Athena who gave the blonde witch a small smile before looking away.

Tara didn't know what was going on, but she hoped that her lie wouldn't put everyone in danger.

It was an hour later that SG-1 was in the Gateroom with SG-3; both teams were heavily armed with Athena the only one without weapons, although she was wearing a vest. Her role was to just go with SG-1 to the colonnade where the repository was located, and then try to extract the data crystal. Colonel O'Neill had told them that if all things failed, then they would blow up the device with C-4 to prevent Anubis from getting his hands on the information… especially the location of what they called the Lost City.

With the Stargate having been activated, SG-3 walked through the Stargate first; with Athena alongside Buffy walking through last. However, just before she entered the event horizon, Athena looked back at Tara and gave her a small smile before stepping through the blue puddle and into a world where there was just lush greenery all around them. Athena noticed the ruins, and the remains of a giant statue in the distance, while Colonel O'Neill was telling Colonel Reynolds to hold the gate.. that they'll be back as soon as possible.

It was a few minutes after arriving that Athena and SG-1 set off for the partially collapsed statue that SG-15 had reported finding the repository… as well as the probe sent by Anubis. The two teams were alert, checking in every ten minutes until SG-1 reached the ruins of the statue and entered the colonnade which formed the base of the statue, which was comprised of one stone hallway. There were columns in one side of the hallway that had Ancient symbols written on them, and one the other side of the hallway was just a wall. Athena looked at the symbols on the columns before she looked at a device on the wall. She walked closer to it with Buffy and Major Carter at her side, while the Colonel and Teal'c were preparing the C-4 just in case; and Daniel was just starting to translate the columns when they heard a sound in the distance. Heading to the columns, Colonel Reynolds's voice shouted through the radio that they had company just as explosions could be heard in the background. Buffy, Athena, Major Carter then took cover behind some columns while an Al'Kesh started to bomb the surrounding area.

Then there were death gliders that entered the atmosphere and had started to fire on the statue, as well as the personnel guarding the Stargate. Athena saw Buffy and the others firing their weapons while the Colonel was telling them that they needed to blow up the repository so that Anubis couldn't get his hands on the device. He then told Buffy and the others to continue firing while he took out a block of C-4.

"Sir" said the Major as she looked at the man placing the charge next to the device, "we can't blow it up… we need the location of the Lost City."

There was another explosion that shook the colonnade as the others took cover while Athena just looked at the device. She was about to make a move when suddenly Daniel rushed the machine, which led to the Colonel grabbing the archaeologist and slamming him against one of the columns while Teal'c and Buffy continued to fire at the Death Gliders buzzing in the air over the statue, as well as the Al'Kesh. They watching in the distance as a streak flew towards a Glider which then exploded in mid-air while one of the personnel from SG-3 shouted over the radio in joy.

Back in the colonnade, Athena heard Daniel saying that putting the information into his mind was the only way.

Athena saw the Major look back at the Colonel before she started to fire again. Taking her chance, Athena ran past the Colonel just as Daniel shouted for the redhead. Everything then happened in slow motion for the redhead as Athena saw the Colonel turn around and reach for her head.. but she ducked his outstretched hand. Athena then heard Buffy and Teal'c shout at her as she looked into the screen of the black coloured device on the wall. She glanced back at the Major who was rushing towards her before she stepped forward.

Athena knew that the others were about to stop her, but it was too late.

The screen extended outwards, followed by 'hands' extending and then wrapping around Athena's head tightly. She could now see shining white light through the screen as her body started to become warm. Athena could feel millions of years of history and knowledge entering her mind.

And that's when it happened.

Athena felt a sense of loss when she recalled the news about Joyce's death when she was in the Academy. She teared up when she remembered standing over her grave, and then the feelings she had when hugging the older blonde on Edina years later. She remembered the fear she felt when they were fighting the Master in High School; she shuddered when she remembered the fear when the Master's disciples came after the Scoobies who were present at the moment of his death so that he could be resurrected. Athena remembered, and felt everything, in an explosion of colours as her mind strained at the seams to contain all of that information from the repositary.

Her heart was pounding when she remembered Tara. Athena's heart sped up when she recalled her smile, the redhead could now feel Tara's kisses on her lips… she could feel her touch along with a feeling of love for the young woman.

Athena could finally feel as the device let go of her head.

Athena nearly collapsed as she stumbled backwards before being caught by Buffy who berated her.

"That… that was… interesting… and… and nifty" said Athena as she looked at Buffy and smiled.

'What the hell, Will?!" shouted Buffy.

"We need to leave, now!" shouted the Colonel as he glared at Athena who was looking back at him, "damn it, Red! You were not supposed to…"

It was then that Athena closed her eyes before her head fell on Buffy's shoulder.

"We need to get back, Jack!" said Daniel as Teal'c moved to pick up Willow in his arms.

"SG-1" said Colonel Reynolds over the radio, "where the hell are you guys?"

"On the way" said the Colonel as he directed Major Carter to place a C-4 charge on the other side of the device. He then nodded at Summers and told her to head back with Teal'c, that he and Major Carter will be just behind them.

"Understood" said Buffy as she took Teal'c P90 as well before the both of them headed out. IN the meantime, Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill followed close behind them while an Al'Kesh was on its way on another bombing run. Once they were far enough, Colonel O'Neill detonated the C-4 explosives… destroying the device.

They continued to run as fast as it could towards teh Stargate where SG-3 were holding their own. It was then that Athena slowly opened her eyes to a feeling of flying.

"Teal'c" she said as she rubbed her head, "I.. I'm alright. Put me down.. I.. I can run."

"Uh uh" said Buffy shaking her head as she looked back before firing at one of the gliders while running, "no time."

"We need speed" said Athena looking at Teal'c, "I can run, Teal'c. I'm alright."

Teal'c stopped just for a moment to put her down. It was by that time that Colonel O'Neill and then Major Carter had reached them as the entire team ran as fast as they could. In a few minutes, they were right at the event horizon and through to the SGC where SG-1 and Athena walked down the ramp to the awaiting General Hammond, followed by SG-3 before the wormhole was disengaged.

"Colonel O'Neill?" asked the General as he looked at the panting group, "I take it your mission was not a success?"

"Depends, sir" said the Colonel as he looked at Willow, who herself as looking at Tara in the Control Room. The redhead then looked at the General and told him that what she did was her own decision, the only way that she believed that she could get her memory back.

"You mean…." asked the General surprised.

"The repository's in my mind" said Athena as she looked at the shock on Tara's face, "the shock did what I thought it would; break down the walls that my mother locked my memories as Willow behind. I'm both Willow, and Athena."

"Infirmary, now" said the General as he looked at Willow, and then at the others, "briefing in an hour."

"Yes…." said Athena as she stumbled backwards, grabbing the railing just before she collapsed onto the ramp. Tara, and the others, looked in horror as the redhead started to convulse wildly. She dashed down the stairs to the Gateroom just as Colonel O'Neill put the redhead to her side while Colonel Reynolds shouted for a medical team to the gate room.

TBC.

 


	75. Chapter 75

**Unknown Location.**

The last thing Willow remembered after coming through the Stargate was her head throbbing from downloading the entire Ancient repository of Knowledge into her mind. The redhead remembered saying something to the General as her voice trailed away. She then felt as if thousands of nails were being hammered into her mind all at once before she stumbled back and grabbed the railing behind her. Willow saw everyone running towards her before she looked right at Tara. She saw the look of horror on the face of the woman she loved when suddenly everything around her was black; it looked like something had turned off the lights.

From that darkness, Willow saw little pin pricks of light shining through; followed by a sensation of falling from a great height.

"Stars" said the redhead before she felt she sound of air rushing past her. She felt her hair fluttering wildly all around her head. Turning around in mid-air, the young redhead saw that she was passing through layers of clouds.

Fear etched on her face, Willow then fell through the final layer of clouds and was greeted with the view of a sun high in the sky; over a world covered in water. The redhead tried to stop her fall, she cried out for help in a panic as she knew that a fall into the waters below at the speed she was travelling would kill her. The redhead gulped at the approaching water and decided to take a risk; she leaned forward until she was looking straight down with her hands forward.

She had tried to make her body as streamlined as possible.

Willow still hit the water with thunderous force; she could feel the wetness of the water, she could feel the BDU's she was wearing getting soaked through, but she couldn't feel any pain. Opening her eyes, she found herself submerged under the water, she moved her hands about and looked around at the vast nothingness around her; her only companions being the bubbles that she was exhaling. The young woman then felt as if she was being watched.

Turning around while submerged, she saw something faint several hundred miles beneath her.

It was like a light that was calling out to her; she felt pulled towards it, she could feel it in her very self that she was supposed to swim towards that light. Willow couldn't however, she was afraid… she started to feel pressure pushing down on her entire body and she wasn't even that deep underwater. Shaking her head, Willow swam up towards the surface of the ocean as fast as she could; she needed to breathe.. she needed to breathe the air because she didn't think she could handle it.

"Hera"

Willow stopped swimming and grabbed her head while opening her mouth and releasing a silent scream as more bubbles were expelled. Willow closed her eyes tight as a stinging pain when through her mind while she arched her body backwards in a floating summersault as a flash of memory appeared in her mind.

"Hera" said Athena right after she had flown through the Stargate from Earth. It was right after the redhead had taken form again that she looked at herself, at her ascended self, before looking back up and smiling at her sister who was standing right before her.

"Athena, you have done it" said Hera as she hugged Athena tightly.

"My light" said Athena softly before she kissed Hera's cheeks and forehead before hugging her again.

"My heart" replied the young brunette before the both of them held hands and then activated the Stargate, "mother and father are waiting for us; they have a surprise for you."

Willow snapped her eyes open again and found herself in the same situation as before. She looked around the dimly lit water that surrounded her before she started to swim towards the surface again. The redhead was frightened now; the memory she just had wasn't part of her memories as a mortal human… it was the first memory she had of meeting Hera after she ascended… it was the first memory she had after handing the weapon to the Guardians of the Ones back on Earth.

'Taking the repository must have… the shock must've unlocked my other memories too' thought Willow to herself as she felt the pressure that was pushing down on her body increasing even though she was swimming towards the surface, 'I….'

Willow suddenly stopped swimming upwards when she felt a warmth going through her body. Turning around again, the young woman looked at the distant light and still felt the pull towards it. The redhead turned around shaking her head before she started to swim for the surface, however no matter how fast she swam, Willow couldn't get closer to the surface… it was as if she was standing still. She opened her mouth to scream while moving her hands and legs wildly; willing herself to be faster, that she needed to reach the surface or else she'll be out of air.

'Air' though Willow as she stopped, 'I… I should be dead now.. I….'

"This is my home, Janus."

Willow turned around again and looked at the faint light in the distance when she heard her own voice speaking in the distance.

"I was born here, and now… now she will be alone at the bottom of the ocean. Alone for all time."

'Can't be' thought Willow to herself as her heart started to race, 'I.. I'm on Lantea or… or.. this is a dream and…'

"Any change?" said a voice that Willow recognized as she looked around at her surroundings.

'General Hammond'

"Her heart beats a bit erratic" said Dr. Fraiser's voice, "her brain waves are steady, we ran the same scan that we ran on Colonel O'Neill when the same thing happened to him and.. well, Willow's mind is already using ninety eight percent of its capacity at once."

'My mind should be able to hold it for longer and…'

"But the good news" said Dr. Fraiser's voice, "at least I hope its good news, her mind may be able to hold that information for a bit longer than the Colonel since her body's been genetically engineered."

"You have but face" said another voice that made Willow smile as she floated under water, "I mean you have a 'but' coming up."

"Doc?" said Colonel O'Neill's voice.

"Janet?" asked Daniel.

"We don't know what that information's doing to her" said Dr. Fraiser, "her mind may be able to hold on to it longer, or it may be able to process the information much faster than what happened with Colonel O'Neill. Her mind could burn up… she could become comatose; or she could recover without any problems. Honestly, I have no right answer to give you. Willow's mind is something new, I can't tell you exactly what's going to happen. Just the theory that she may be able to hold on to the information for a much longer time."

Willow closed her eyes and shook her head. She turned and looked up at the outline of the sun that was high in the sky before she turned again and looked at the light in the distance; the lights of Atlantis.

'The Lost City' thought Willow to herself as she had a flash of memory. She saw one of the descendents of Janus writing in a stone tablet about the city that the Ancients had made lost, 'the legend of Atlantis was spread by word of mouth. A great city lost to the oceans, a city that the people who had once occupied it that made it lost so that the Wraith would never find her…. would never find my home; would never find Earth'

Willow remembered the young man chiselling away on the tablet in the language of the Ancients about a city that they had made lost… but made no mention of why, or how. Willow looked up at the outline of the sun through the ocean water above her, and then looked down at the faint light again. She knew that she wasn't drowning, not in the traditional sense as her initial panic gave way to a warm calmness about her.

'Tara' thought Willow with a smile when she realized that her love had to be close by for her to suddenly feel a sense of serenity just embracing her. Willow just stayed still, floating submerged under the ocean before she knew in her heart what she had to do. She couldn't escape this situation, she knew that in her heart. She looked up and just knew that there was nothing on the surface for her, that she needed to go towards the distant light.

She needed to go to the city that her people had made lost thousands of years ago.

**Infirmary, SGC, 1300 hours.**

Tara could only watch Willow while she stood next to Buffy and Major Carter. She watched her love lying still on the bed while the Colonel was talking with Daniel and General Hammond. Tara then glanced over at Teal'c who was standing at the foot of the young woman's bed as if guarding her; the both of them haven't yet left the redhead's side since she collapsed in the Gateroom. The other members of SG-1 were with the both of them as well in shifts, hoping for Willow to wake up.

"She'll be alright, Tara" said the Major as Tara looked at her and nodded her head when she heard a moan.

At the soft sound, every one stopped talking and looked at Willow who was moving her head slightly as her eyelids fluttered.

"Get Dr. Fraiser" said General Hammond as one of the S.F's rushed to find the doctor who had just left for her office.

"Hey red" said the Colonel as Willow slowly opened her eyes, "what'cha doin?"

"Hi… sir" said Willow as she closed her eyes again and sighed, "water…. Water."

"Here" said Tara as she hurriedly poured some of the liquid into a cup and then placed a straw into it before she sat on the chair at the head of the bed and brought the straw to Willow's lips. The redhead gave a small smile at the blonde who was sitting next to her before she drank the water through the straw. Taking her lips off the straw, the redhead then nodded her head as Tara placed the cup on the bedside table just as Dr. Fraiser rushed back into the infirmary.

"Look who's awake" said the doctor with a smirk on her face as she walked up to Willow and started to check her vitals before looking at all the others who were surrounding the bed, "ok, I need everyone out of here. I just need to run some quick tests and…"

"Doc" said Willow hoarsely as she looked at the older redhead, "I never asked, are you alright? I mean… what happened on 666 and…"

"I'm alright" said Dr. Fraiser, "but now I need to make sure that you're going to be alright before you're debriefed."

"We'll be right back, Doctor" said the General.

It was nearly an hour later that SG-1, and Tara walked back into the infirmary minus General Hammond who had to take a call in his office. The team saw that Willow was all smiles while the back of her bed was raised. Dr. Fraiser then told the redhead that she'll get some lunch for her before she nodded at SG-1 and Tara as she walked past them, and then out into the hallway outside the infirmary.

"Hey Will" said Buffy as she sat on one side of the bed and put her arm around her best friend's shoulders.

"Hey Buff" said the redhead who nudged the Slayer's arm with her elbow.

"So" said Colonel O'Neill as he approached Willow, "you're you? Or Athena still in there somewhere?"

"I'm both, sir" said Willow nodding her head, "sorry about pushing past you on the planet, must have been because of my great agility."

Willow gave a smile as she looked at the raised eyebrows on the Colonel.

"Or maybe you're getting old, Jack" said Daniel as the Colonel snapped his head towards the archaeologist.

"Indeed" said Teal'c.

"Hey" replied the Colonel before he heard muted giggling him. Turning to Tara, Buffy, and Major Carter – all of whom just looked about nervously when he looked at them- he asked if they had anything to add."

"Nothing, sir" said Major Carter.

"Yes, sir" said Buffy shaking her head, "nothing."

"You are kind of getting old, Jack" said Tara before she gave the Colonel a wide smile.

It was just then that the General walked back into the infirmary, and welcomed Willow back to the land of the awake. The bald man then held on to the railing at the foot of the redhead's bed before looking at all of his officers, and Tara.

"I've just gotten off the phone with the President" said the General looking at everyone around him, "and… and I've just been relieved of command."

"Sir?" asked a confused Colonel O'Neill while Willow adjusted herself on the bed so that she was seated more comfortably. Everyone looked at the bald man in shock as he told them that the President had ordered the shutdown of the SGC for a three month review process; part of which was the creation of a new government agency to replace the SGC.

"Sir?" asked Major Carter while Tara, in shock, sat next to Willow on her other side, "Willow doesn't have that much time."

"I give it a week, sir" said Willow as she rubbed her forehead which had starting to throb, "you don't have to worry about me speaking Ancient, I mean I still have that translator crystal that Thor gave me. But… I think we still need the Asgard on stand-by."

"How could this have happened?" asked Teal'c referring to the shutdown of the SGC.

"One guess" said Buffy as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Kinsey."

"Maybe if we talk to him" said Tara nodding her head, "maybe he'll understand and…"

"He's tried to shut down this command despite knowing that the Gua'uld could attack at any time" said Major Carter, "I doubt he'll change his mind now."

"All we need is the location of the lost city" said Buffy as she looked at everyone, "maybe if we can tell him that we have the location, then maybe"

"Who's taking over, sir?' asked Colonel O'Neill.

"A Dr. Elizabeth Weir" said the General as Willow's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing that name before she recalled having met an alternate version of Dr. Weir back on Atlantis. Tara had sensed Willow's recognition of that name, and then looked at the redhead as a small smile formed on her lips.

"Sir's, Ma'am, Teal'c, Daniel, Buffy, Tara" said Willow as she looked at everyone, "I know where the lost city is and Daniel, you were wrong."

'You do?" asked the Major, "you're able to access the database this quick?"

"I didn't know what we were referring to" said Willow as the throbbing increased in her head, "but now… Major, Colonel, General… what I said about advanced tech was true. That it's very dangerous but I know I can trust you to understand the reasons why… damn.."

'Willow?" asked Tara as she saw the redhead rubbing her temples with both hands at either side of her head while she closed her eyes tight and gritted her teeth, "Willow?"

"Mind's on fire" said Willow before she looked up, her body feeling hot, "I…."

"Get Dr. Fraiser" said the General as Buffy rushed to the phone on the wall and called for the older redhead while Tara reached for and put her hand around Willow's left hand.

"She's burning up" said the blonde witch as Willow started to sweat, "Willow?"

"Listen to me;' said Willow, "the lost city doesn't mean what you think. She… she's in Pegasus, she… she's my home."

"What are you talking about?" asked Daniel as Willow looked at the archaeologist.

"She wasn't made lost to protect it from the Goa'uld; she was made lost to protect us, and this Planet from the Wraith. When we returned to Earth, we spread her story and it spread like wild fire. Tell me if you heard it before; the tale of an extremely advanced civilization that lived on a wondrous city that sunk into the ocean."

"Atlantis?" said Buffy as everyone looked at her.

"Hey" she said, "I read."

Tara smiled at the Slayer before she looked at Willow who was wiping the sweat off her brow.

"Willow?" asked Major Carter while Colonel O'Neill and General Hammond looked at each other in surprise, "you're talking about the lost city of Atlantis? The Atlantis?"

"My home, Colonel" said the redhead, "I… I hope she's still intact. But… but getting to Pegasus is… is… wait.. it doesn't matter. The Potentia…"

'Potentia?" asked General Hammond just as Dr. Fraiser rushed in and immediately started to check on Willow.

"Potential" said Daniel as Willow nodded her head.

"A power source" said Willow as Dr. Fraiser pushing the redhead gently down while Tara got off the bed, "a pocket of subspace time in a crystalline container."

"Holy Hannah" said the Major, "you're serious?"

"Yes" said Willow while Dr. Fraiser checked her blood pressure, and then a laser thermometer, "the shields should still be intact since…. Since she's on board in the City. Janus told her to cycle the Potentia every Three point three thousand years and… and… I… I need to preserve… to… to preserve…'

"Willow?" said Dr. Fraiser after she called for nurses to help her, "you're having a high fever, a very high fever and…"

"I don't wanna sleep" said Willow as she looked at the doctor with fear in her eyes, "I.. I can't…. I'll be drowning and… I'm swimming towards the light… towards Atlantis and… and I wanna stay… Doc?"

"Willow" said Dr. Frasier as the machine that had leads connected to Willow's chest started to beep loudly while others looked in concern, "Willow… I need you to calm down."

"I…. I…." said Willow as she arched her back while she grabbed both sides of her head. Dr. Fraiser then asked Tara and the others to hold Willow down before she hurt herself. Then just as Willow's trashing on the bed started, it stopped with the redhead breathing hard as she looked at Tara, and Buffy.

"Willow?" asked Dr. Fraiser as the redhead looked at the doctor, "what.."

"I feel like I'm getting pulled under an ocean" said Willow softly, "I can feel the pressure around me, pushing down on me… I… I try to swim away from the light but… I get pulled down to it. That's what it just felt like, I…. I need a computer… I need something to write… something to draw."

"But…"

"General" said Willow as she slowly sat up again with the help of Dr. Fraiser and Tara, "I'll give you information that I feel you need to protect the planet. All I ask if that I don't be asked about specific weapons or.. or devices that I know will destroy indiscriminately."

"Even if I order you to?" asked the General.

"Sir" said Willow, "I have to believe that once you know my explanations why… then you won't give me that order."

"I need a map" continued Willow, "I'll give you the locations of our outposts throughout the planet. Some of the critical data's been destroyed… especially in regards to the clones. But there's weapons research… energy weapons research in some of those outposts. There are very powerful weapons too on the planet, but I'm not sure where those could be, the continents shifted in millions of years since Atlantis left Earth so I can't tell you where those are."

"When you came back" said Buffy, "didn't you check on those? I mean the ones with weapons?"

"Didn't have a need to, Buff" said Willow, "I wasn't involved with the war the Alliance had with the Goa'uld, I spent most of my time on Kheb leaning to Ascend. I need to wait for the information from the database to come to my conscious mind."

"What do we tell Dr. Weir?" asked Daniel, "I mean do we tell her what Willow just told us or…"

"We'll tell her" said the General, "she comes in on Monday, and I'll be leaving for Washington tomorrow."

"I'd like to write down anything that comes to my head on the computer and… and I'd like to go home" said Willow.

"Cant" said Dr. Fraiser, "Willow, if what happened just now happens again… no, I'm ordering you to at least stay on the base until we get that information out of your head."

"We can have a barbeque at the top of the mountain" said Colonel O'Neill before he turned to the General, "sir? We'll make it a party."

"Alright, Jack" said the General nodding his head.

While the others were talking, Willow looked at Tara and Buffy who looked back at her in worry. She mouthed 'I'm fine' to them before she looked at Tara, and suddenly wished that only the two of them were alone in the infirmary right now.

Willow then closed her eyes as she found herself underwater once again. She could still feel the pull of the light as the pressure of the water around her increased. The redhead knew what was happening, it had taken her time to figure out.. but she knew what was happening. And that there was no way to fight it.

The data base was all around her. She was sinking deeper and deeper into it.. and very soon; she'd be gone.

TBC.

 


	76. Chapter 76

**Infirmary, SGC, two days later: 0900 hours.**

Willow felt pressure the deeper she went into the ocean's depths. She stopped occasionally and looked around to see the light from the surface getting dimmer, and dimmer; now only a few rays of light can be seen through the water around her. She then turned once again until she was looking at the visible dome that was formed by a massive shield. Willow was floating when she saw the light created by the water's pressure on the shield, reflected onto the towers on the other side.

She was so close as she started swimming faster, and harder.

There was something that was pushing her, a feeling that she was getting in her mind and heart that they were going to be out of time; that her friends needed as much information as possible. She could feel a calming sensation at the same time too, and recognized that feeling came from Tara, as well as a strangle buzzing sensation that Willow could tell was coming from Buffy.

She could sense that the two of them were sitting close to her, looking on worried.

But Willow didn't care as much as leaving behind information about technology she thought the SGC was ready for; however, there was one question that she had no idea how to answer.

"Will" asked Buffy the day she had awakened in the infirmary after collapsing in the Gateroom, "are you Athena with Willow's memories? Or are you Willow with Athena's memories?"

As Willow swam towards the dome, she thought about what to answer Buffy because she still didn't know the answer. Willow remembered looking at Buffy, and then at SG-1, before looking at Tara.

Tara who made her heart jump.

Tara who Willow could sense was worried about her; Willow could actually feel her fear for what the redhead was going through.

All the redhead wanted to do was take Tara in her arms and kiss her; kiss her because she knew what was happening to herself. Willow knew that while she could hold the information for longer, she was enabling more of the database to come into her conscious mind due to the urgent need for information. Willow then looked at Colonel O'Neill; she wanted to say something, that accessing the information so soon and so fast would break her mind that much faster.

'But they need the information' thought Willow as she looked at Buffy that first day.

Buffy, Willow's best friend, the same person who was against her joining the Air Force was, in a twist of irony, her teammate on SG-1. Willow gave the Slayer a small smile before she held onto Buffy's hand and then looked at Major Carter.

Major Carter, her idol.

It was then that Willow realized she needed to make a record of what she was beginning to access.

Random information that seemed to be important; information that she couldn't control coming to her mind's surface.

"Ma'am" said Willow looking at Major Carter, "I need a laptop with a CAD program, external hard disks and... and pencil, paper... anything to... get down what I have in my mind."

"That was fast" said Colonel O'Neill.

"Indeed" said Teal'c, "it had taken O'Neill a week to gain access to the database."

"It... damn it! it works differently for different people" exclaimed Willow as she rubbed the sides of her head while closing her eyes. It was then that she sensed shock from the others. Shaking her head, Willow opened her eyes and looked at Teal'c, "sorry, Teal'c... didn't mean to snap at you. I.. just have all these things coming into my head, I... please. I need something to record this and.. and then I'll think of something to get us the weapons on Earth."

"Atlantis?" asked Daniel.

"We need a power source for Atlantis" said Willow, "and.. we need at least three of those or else it would take time to fly the city here. But right now, our biggest problem is the Earth because I know something's coming."

"Anubis?" asked the General as Willow looked at him before telling the bald man that she wasn't sure, but she needed to get some work done as soon as possible.

The whole time since then, Willow had been constantly typing on the computer and saving what data she could recall onto the hard-disks. When the CAD programs were too slow for her, the redhead drew detailed plans on paper that was provided to her by Major Carter, who would drop in occasionally to make sure that Willow was alright.

It was on the third day, a Monday, that Tara walked in to find Willow on the laptop typing; her fingers furiously travelling over the keyboard. The blonde witch looked at the dark circles under Willow's eyes and recalled that the redhead had only managed about three hours of sleep a night... however, it was something that she was forced to do. Willow would keep on saying that she couldn't sleep, that she didn't want to be under the ocean by herself.

'She'll look at me when she said that' thought Tara as she sat down next to the redhead before noticing that Buffy was sleeping on the other side of the bed. Tara smiled at Willow's best friend keeping her company throughout the night. Letting Buffy sleep, Tara looked at Willow, who continued to type furiously on the keyboard

"Willow?" whispered Tara as she leaned forward.

However, the redhead either didn't hear her, or she just plainly ignored her. Tara had no idea which on it was.

"Willow?" said Tara again as she gently placed her hand over Willow's hand. It was then that the redhead stopped typing, and looked at her love... the blonde witch's presence bringing a smile to Willow's face.

"Tara" smiled Willow as she twisted her body and put a hand on the blonde's cheek, "I'm going down deeper into the ocean. I... can feel the pressure building on my chest, I… a part of me feels afraid... but the other part? The other part see's your face in front of me, it feels you close by and I start swimming again towards the light. I can sometimes see you under the dome.. the orange dome of light."

"Willow" said Tara, "come back to me... can't you push this... I mean... can't you push this back and…"

"It's pulling me in" said Willow softly, "I... when we were in Sunnydale, I.. I saw your mother, Tara. She's so beautiful, she's so... you're like her. I see the light around you, I can sense you from so far away.. I know you're sacred and confused, I know you're hiding it but..."

"Shhh" said Tara as she leaned forward, "I saw momma too. She... she told me something.. something that I didn't understand then, and I will not let happen now. She said that I'll have to lose you to get you back. I refuse to let that happen, Willow.. I refuse. Even I really don't know what it means and…"

"I… I know, but I'm with you" said Willow as she looked into Tara's eyes, "I'm always with you."

"Willow" said Tara as she held both of the redhead's hands. She wanted to tell Willow so many things, she imagined the both of them up on the observation deck on the top of Cheyenne mountain; Tara slipping the ring on Willow's finger before the both of them hugged each other tightly. But as she looked at Willow who was smiling at her and tilting her head, Tara knew that this wasn't the right time; she knew that she needed to wait for Willow to get all of that Ancient knowledge out of her head before she popped the question.

"Yes" said Willow softly as she looked at a suddenly confused Tara.

"Yes?" asked Tara with her eyes furrowed together in confusion.

Willow closed her eyes and started to take in a few more deep breaths before looking at Tara again.

"It comes and goes.. the knowledge in my head.. the sound of being underneath the ocean sometimes drives it back… it drives everything back. The ocean.. the ocean is the data.. so much of it" said Willow softly before she looked at the sleeping form of her best friend, and then back at Tara, "but sometimes Tara? Sometime I can hear.. beautiful things. When people think too loud, when they…"

"Willow" said Tara as she opened her eyes wide when she realized what the redhead meant.

"You're giving me a reason to go on with this" said Willow as she gently pulled Tara off her chair, while still looking at her, and then shifted to one side of the bed so that Tara could sit right next to her, "I go on with this, and I will come back. I'm not leaving anywhere, and.. and when I get back… you and I are getting married."

"Willow" said Tara with tears in her eyes as she looked in the tired green eyes of her girlfriend, "momma said I'll lose you to get you back and.. and I'm not losing you."

"It's not destiny" said Willow, "it's not… nothing's written in stone. But… but I have to go away for awhile, Tara."

"No" said Tara shaking her head.

"Buffy" said Willow as she looked back at her best friend while Tara looked at Willow confused, and then at Buffy who suddenly opened one eye at them, "you're thinking too loud."

"Not cool" said a groggy Buffy as she opened her other eye and stretched her arms over her head, and yawned.

"Did you hear everything?" asked Willow.

"From you telling that you were gonna marry Tara" said Buffy, "it kinda got a bit awkward, and then I started to think and.. yeah.."

"I am going to marry Tara" said Willow as Buffy got off her seat and sat on the bed before putting her hand on Willow's ankle, "and you're gonna be there… you better be and…"

"Willow" said Tara as Willow looked at Tara again, a Tara with tears in her eyes, "you just said that you have to go away and…."

"Sorry, Will" said Buffy, "but Tara's right. You can't make a promise and…"

"The Asgard haven't contacted us, have they?" asked Willow as she looked at Buffy and then at Tara, "we sent them messages but no one's contacted us."

'Yet" said Tara, "they haven't contacted us yet."

"I need the both of you to trust me" said Willow as she looked at Tara and Buffy, "whatever happens, I need you both to trust me."

"Of course" said Buffy.

"Tara?" asked Willow as she looked at her girlfriend, "I've written down code for… hell… I don't know what it is for. I've spent the last two nights, and this morning drawing out three…. Hell, I don't even know what I did. All I know is that they could be important for us. All of this is to protect you.. I wanna make you happy and…"

It was then that the klaxons in the base went off. Buffy and Tara looked at each other, and then at Willow who told them to get going. The two of them then started to move, but not before Willow looked at the camera's and mentally disconnected them. She then looked around the empty infirmary and then leaned forward and grabbed Tara's arm, spun her around as the blonde Witch gave a little yelp before kissing her.

"I love you" said Willow as she broke the kiss and looked into Tara's blue eyes, "don't worry, I disabled the camera's… now go."

Buffy grinned as she rushed out of the infirmary while Tara looked back at the redhead and brushed her own fingers against her lips before leaving the infirmary. All the while, while Tara was looking at her, Willow was grinning. However, once Tara left the room… Willow dropped the smile and rubbed her head before lay down on the bed and gave a silent scream as her body twisted in pain. Willow knew that the information was being released into her body at a much more rapid rate than intended, and that so much information, fifty million years worth of information was burning her brain. Willow knew that no matter how much the others wanted that information, the SGC simply didn't have the technology to copy that information into computers… not even the most powerful supercomputer.

"I.. I need to ask Thor" said Willow after she calmed down while panting hard. She then wiped the sweat off her forehead and sat up again.

It was then she had a feeling in her heart, a feeling of dread.

It was thirty minutes later that Tara rushed into the infirmary by herself to tell Willow that there was a huge emergency. She told the redhead that Master Bra'tac had arrived through the gate to tell them that he received intelligence that Anubis was heading to Earth with the rest of his fleet, nearly forty ships, and that they'd be in orbit of Earth in three days. While Tara was talking, Willow closed her eyes and found herself floating underwater again. She could see that she was getting closer to the yellow dome that surrounded Atlantis; she reached out to just touch the shield, but she found that it was still far off despite the city looking so close to her.

Opening her eyes again, Willow just heard the part about the Vice-President coming to talk to Master Bra'tac, and SG-1 in three hours. Nodding her head, Willow took a deep breath and asked Tara to call for Dr. Fraiser… that they had no more time to waste.

**Briefing Room, SGC, 1230 hours.**

Willow was walking through the corridor, and past General Hammond's old office with Major Carter, Master Bra'tac, and Tara, while Buffy, Teal'c, Daniel, and Colonel O'Neill were already standing close to the briefing room table. Willow smiled and said hi to all of them, telling her team that she was feeling better… although she was still having headaches, and pain was coursing through her body.

"You gonna be alright, Red?" asked Colonel O'Neill as Willow nodded her head. She then walked over to Tara before nudging her arm with her shoulder; they both of them then heard footsteps coming up another set of winding stairs in the rear of the room.

"Here we go" mumbled Colonel O'Neill under his breath as Vice-President Kinsey walked into the room with an aide, and a woman next to him with a face that Willow instantly recognized; Dr. Elizabeth Weir.

"Doc" said Colonel O'Neill as he nodded at the new commander of the base, a woman he and Daniel had already met earlier that day.

"Colonel" said Dr. Weir nodding at the older man, before looking at Daniel and then nodding at him. She them looked at the others and smiled.

"Major Carter, Lieutenant's Summers and Rosenberg, Teal'c, Master Bra'tac, and… Miss Maclay" said Dr. Weir as she nodded at all of them, "it's a pleasure to finally meet all of you."

Dr. Weir then motioned towards the seats as she, Kinsey sitting next to her, and the others all sat down at their usual places. Dr. Weir then leaned forward and told them that this emergency meeting was to discuss the news that Master Bra'tac had brought them.

"Awfully convenient" said Kinsey as he sneered at SG-1, "Mister Bra'tac…"

"Master" said Colonel O'Neill as he lifted his hand, "Master Bra'tac."

"Right" said Kinsey as he glared at the Colonel, and then at Bra'tac, "so apparently we're facing an invasion just as the SGC is shutting down for a review. What a surprise!"

"Yea, Mister Vice President" said Colonel O'Neill sarcastically as he emphasized the 'Vice' part of teh man's title, "this is what we do the entire time we're here… come up with fake and crazy scenarios where the Earth's threatened again by a crazy Goa'uld."

"Mr. Vice-President, Colonel O'Neill" said Dr. Weir as she looked at the both of them before looking at Bra'tac, "let's assume that Master Bra'tac is in earnest, and that there's a force coming here… can we negotiate?"

"That's the most _idiotic thing I've ever heard"_ said Willow when she suddenly stopped talking when she realized she was speaking in both English, and in Ancient. She then felt for the translation crystal in her pockets and recalled that she left it in her quarters when she went to take a long, hot, shower after much begging with Dr. Fraiser to release her, 'with what I just said, I think it's a good thing that only Tara, and Daniel know what I just said.'

"Ummm…" said Tara as she looked at Willow with eyes wide open.

"Was that Latin?" asked Kinsey as he looked at Willow.

"No" said Dr. Weir.

"Lt. Rosenberg said that negotiating with the Goa'uld, especially with Anubis, is something that's useless" said Daniel, "he's a half ascended Goa'uld who…"

"Look" said Kinsey as he interrupted what Daniel was trying to say, "I've heard all of this nonsense before. Is there any proof that Anubis is going to attack?"

"I learnt it from a Jaffa loyal to me" said Bra'tac.

"Anubis can wipe us off the map" said Buffy as she looked at Kinsey, "he's got knowledge of Ancient technology, and he'll use that to attack us… sir."

"I know what you are, Miss Sum…."

"Lt. Summers" said Colonel O'Neill as he leaned in towards Buffy while glaring at Kinsey, "Dick."

"Why you…" said Kinsey.

"Gentlemen" said Dr. Weir as she stood up and looked at Kinsey, and then at Colonel O'Neill, "this isn't the time, or the place for this foolishness."

Colonel O'Neill looked up at Dr. Weir and nodded his head while Kinsey just looked on smugly as Dr. Weir sat down.

"Dr. Weir" said Major Carter, "according to Willow, we may have access to alien technology within reach that could defeat Anubis."

"Lieutenant?" asked Dr. Weir as she looked at Willow.

Willow recalled having told SG-1, as well as General Hammond that, she'd like to wait before revealing all she knew about Atlantis. She asked the General, and SG-1, to trust her.. that there was a good reason why she wasn't telling them everything they needed to know.

"I know you have questions" said Willow as she looked at everyone while they were having the barbeque on the observation deck on top of the mountain, "believe me when I say that I'll give you the location of technology that I know we'll use to effectively defend this planet. But there's some technologies that.. that we need to find out on our own. I ask that we don't tell Dr. Weir the location of Atlantis, at least not yet. I know that Daniel and Tara will be able to find the city on their own.. they're tenacious when searching for something. Major Carter, I'll have some plans ready for you… I'll get down as much as I can on the computer, and on paper."

"Willow" said Major Carter as she put her hand on the redhead's shoulder, "you're talking as if… I mean…"

"I trust you with this technology, ma'am" said Willow with a grin, "I just ask that you trust me."

Back in the briefing room, Willow told Dr. Weir that she'll know the location to the lost city soon enough.

"That's not good enough" said Kinsey as he looked at Willow, "now you're saying there's a mysterious lost city that's gonna come out of your hat and…"

"It will have weapons capable of defending this planet" said Teal'c as he looked at Kinsey who leaned back on his seat and shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe I'm listening to this" said Kinsey.

" _I know what you did"_ said Willow as she tilted her head and looked straight at Kinsey, " _you think too loudly, your greatest mistakes and…"_

"Willow" said Daniel as the redhead shook her head and then looked at him confused.

"What?" asked Willow.

"You just spoke in Ancient, again" said Daniel.

"Did not"

"Did too" said Buffy.

"Great" said Kinsey, "we've got an inept team, and a lieutenant with a mental illness who…"

"Mister Vice President" said Dr. Weir as she looked at the man sitting next to her who sat back smugly.

"Dr. Weir" said Willow, "I'll find out the location of the Lost City; it's gonna come to me. But when I do, will you let us go, ma'am?"

"No" said Kinsey.

' _Traitor'_ said Willow as Daniel coughed.

"What?" asked Kinsey as he looked at Daniel who shook his head before telling him that Willow said it was a mistake not to do anything.

Tara looked at Willow, and then at Daniel after he gave the wrong translation of what Willow had said on purpose. Looking back at Willow, the blonde witch sensed that her girlfriend was in great pain before she even looked down at the redhead's hands which were rolled into fists until the knuckles were white as a sheet.

'Will' thought Tara to herself.

It was just then that Willow looked over at Tara and gave a small smile, before she looked at Dr. Weir, who Colonel O'Neill was talking to. He had asked her if she really was the one in command of the base, or if it was the Vice-President. And if she knew why she was really taking control of the base, what she doing it to protect the world, or to further one man's agenda.

"Look Doc" said the Colonel, "let's make this simple, if Red finds the location of the lost City, we go and find it. Yes, or no?"

"I'll consider it" said Dr. Weir as she nodded at the Colonel, and then at Willow.

Everyone, except for Kinsey, then smiled before Bra'tac told them that he needed to head back to Chulak. They all looked at Teal'c when he said that he'll leave with Bra'tac as well, that he'll help to gather ships and personnel that could protect Earth.

"Good luck" said Dr. Weir as she nodded her head.

It was two hours later that Willow and the others, except for Kinsey who was talking to Dr. Weir in her office, stood at the Gateroom with the Stargate active behind them. They had all wished Teal'c and Bra'tac good luck before Willow hugged the large Jaffa. Unknown to the others, the redhead then whispered into Teal'c ear.

"We need a ship as soon as possible, Teal'c" whispered Willow, "even a cargo ship, anything that has hyperspace capability."

Willow then pulled back and looked at Teal'c who nodded his head. They then watched Teal'c leave through the Stargate before it disengaged.

"Willow?" asked Tara as she saw her girlfriend looking at the Gate.

"Will?" asked Buffy as the redhead walked up the ramp and looked at the inner track of the device. She walked closer to it before she brushed her hand over the symbols.

With one touch, Willow closed her eyes again and found herself among stars. She watched planets fly past her while she was floating in space, instead of the Lantean ocean. Willow looked around her as the Stargate addresses appeared over the planets as they flew by, however, she felt drown to one particular planet. It seemed like a dead husk with volcano's on the surface. She then read the Stargate address that appeared above the planet before she found herself in the ocean again. Willow looked around and found that everything was the same as before she started to swim towards the light of Atlantis' shield.

Back in the Gateroom, Willow stepped back and looked at the ring, and then back at SG-1 while pointing towards the Stargate.

"Praclarush Taonas At" said Willow as she looked at the Stargate, and then at SG-1 again before repeating herself.

"Willow?" asked Major Carter, "what's Praclarush Taonas At?"

"A planet?" asked Daniel as Willow nodded her head vigorously and pointed at him.

"Ok, so a planet" said Daniel, "the name's Ancient but I'll need to check on…"

"Lost in fire" said Tara as Willow pointed at her and nodded her head, "Willow, that's the translation?"

"I'm jealous" said Daniel as Tara gave him a small smile before looking at Willow again.

"We have a name" said the Colonel, "but a Gate address? And why's it important? Red, you told us that Atlantis is in another galaxy and…"

" _He… He… help"_ said Willow in Ancient as she pointed at the Stargate, Willow felt her mind running faster than before as she closed her eyes again. She found that the city was further away as she started to swim faster and faster.. the pressure continueing to build all around her. Willow then oppned her eyes again before she then pointed at the Earth symbol on the Stargate and said, "At."

"That?" asked Buffy.

"At" said Willow before she looked at the inner track again and pointed at another symbol, followed by another, "Pra, shh."

"Oh" said Daniel as he figured out what Willow meant, as did Tara, "seven syllables, Pra-cla-ru-sh Tao-nas-at. That's the Gate address."

"So there's help in Praclarush Taonas?" asked Buffy while Willow nodded her head.

" _Tr… trust…?"_ said Willow looking at Buffy as she rubbed the sides of her head.

"I trust you" said Tara as she looked at Willow who gave a witch a small smile.

"Red, Carter" said the Colonel as he looked at Willow, and then at the MAjor, "dial that address."

Willow and the Major rushed to the Control Room where the blonde officer put her hand on Willow's back and told her to take a seat, and type in the gate address while the rest of SG-1 walked down the ramp. Willow started to type in the Gate address just as Dr. Weir rushed down the metal stairs once she heard the klaxons going off.

"Major?" asked Dr. Weir as she stood next to Major Carter while watching Willow type and then lean back when the last symbol, the symbol of origin for Earth didn't lock. The Major then asked Willow to try again before looking at Dr. Weir and telling her that more of the information in Willow mind must have unspooled since she pointed out an address that could be useful.

"The Lost City?" asked Dr. Weir.

"It could be, all we know is that the information being released into Willow's mind is saying that this planet's important" said the Major as she looked at Dr. Weir before looking at the Stargate again. The Major knew that she hadn't told Dr. Weir the whole truth, particularly about Atlantis, but for now.. they had more things to worry about… especially why the Stargate wasn't connecting to Praclarush.

"We've dialled before" said the Major as Willow stood up and the blonde officer took her place after which she ran a quick diagnostic, "a few months ago."

"Carter?" asked the Colonel as he walked up the stairs to the control room, followed by Daniel and the others, "what's going on?"

"The wormhole's not connecting, sir" said the Major.

"Lost in fire" said Daniel thoughtfully as he looked at Tara, "you think…"

"Maybe it's literal?" asked Tara, "I mean the Stargate could have been buried in fire… maybe lava, or.. I mean.."

"Either way" said Buffy, "we need a ship."

"Let's hope Teal'c get's something soon" said Dr. Weir before she sighed and turned around, before heading back up to her office. In the meantime, Willow knew that only one of the outposts on Earth had the stasis chamber she needed to slow down her deteriorating condition. She knew that the Potentia in that outpost would have been depleted, that it was already nearly depleted when Atlantis left Earth. She knew that Praclarush had a fully charged Potentia as revealed by the unspooling knowledge in her mind.

'It may not be at full power' thought Willow to herself, 'but it's going to be enough. I need the Control chair to find out the location of the outpost with the stasis chamber, and the closest one the knowledge base showed me was the one on Praclarush. Now we just need to wait for Teal'c.'

TBC

 


	77. Chapter 77

**Stargate Command, 1515 hours.**

It had been only fifteen minutes since Teal'c walked through the Stargate with Bra'tac so that he could gather ships, and the same amount of time had passed since Willow and Major Carter checked the Gate address for Praclarush Taonas. Now, all they could do was wait for Teal'c to come back to them with news on any ship that he may have managed to acquire. Willow looked at the screens on the computer in the control room as she tried to think among the ocean of data that was swirling in her mind. Willow knew that there was one place where she left a Potentia, the same place where she went after Sineya was made the first Slayer.

"Kheb" said Willow as Major Carter looked at the redhead, as did Tara and the rest of SG-1, "Kheb… Po… Potentia…"

"Power source?" asked Buffy as Willow nodded her head.

"But we don't know…" said the Colonel as Willow looked at him and held his hand before squeezing tight.

"Trust… _not… time. Please."_ Said Willow as she struggled to speak while the pressure on her mind was mounting.

"She's saying there's not enough time, Jack" said Daniel before looking at Willow, " _Willow, will that power source help us? I mean right now?"_

" _No…. this is…. this is for future"_ said Willow as she looked at Daniel, and then at Tara, "we… we must go to Kheb. Please."

"Carter" said the Colonel, "you stay with Red, I'll go talk with Weir. If this power source comes in handy, then… well, it's a good thing."

It was three hours later that, after Dr. Weir gave the go-ahead for the plan to go to Kheb, that SG-1 stood in the Gateroom while Walter dialled up the address. Willow was accompanying them as well, but she was unarmed with Buffy staying close to her at all times. Since this mission was classified as just an exploratory mission with very little chance of Goa'uld encounters.. particularly after what happened the last time the Goa'uld tried to invade Kheb, Tara asked for, and was given permission to go with the team to Kheb. So when Tara walked into the Gateroom with Daniel, Willow just looked at the blonde witch as if she was looking at her for the first time and gave a wide smile on her face.. a smile that was met by one from Tara.

As the Stargate activated, Willow walked up to Tara, with Buffy by her side, and walked behind Major Carter and the others as they went through the Stargate. Stepping through the event horizon, SG-1 found themselves in a clearing surrounded by green trees everywhere with a series of buildings far off into the distance that looked tiny from where they stood.

It was a few seconds later that the Stargate shut down before Willow walked down the pedestal stairs with Buffy and Tara beside her as Colonel O'Neill looked at the redhead and asked her which way they needed to go, however all Willow did for a few seconds before nodding at the Colonel was look at the set of building in the distance before giving off a small smile as she remembered her training with Oma. Willow then looked at the Colonel and nodded her head before she led the group away from the Stargate. She recalled the directions she used to walk from the set of buildings to the Gateship where she had kept the Potentia. It had taken some time for the young redhead but she finally found the part of the trail that she was looking for. Looking back at the group that was following her, Willow then nodded her head as she signalled that they needed to walk towards the left.

"Go on, Red" said the Colonel as Willow, who was flanked by an armed Buffy, and a handgun carrying Tara continued to walk down the trail until they reached an area that was covered in overgrowth and trees.

The others then stopped in surprise, while Willow smiled and continued walking, once they saw a greenish coloured cylindrical object that was just laying on the ground. The entire object covered with overgrowth, overgrowth that Willow was pulling away with her hands from one of the angled section of the object. With the information that was hurtling into Willow's conscious mind making her unable to access any of her abilities, Willow.. with the help of Teal'c, Daniel, and Buffy, pulled at the overgrowth while Major Carter, Tara and Colonel O'Neill walked to the other angled end of the object where they caught sight of a window under the thick covering.

"This is a ship" said the Major as she got onto her toes and managed to look into what seemed to be the cockpit before looking at the Colonel, "sir, this is a ship."

"Let's try cutting these things off" said the Colonel as he took out his combat knife, as did Major Cater and Tara. It was a few seconds later that they started to cut through the growth on the window before Tara used her magic to remove the growth away.

"Jack!" shouted Daniel after ten minutes as the Colonel, Major Carter, and Tara looked at each other before heading to the other end of the ship where they saw Buffy rip the last bits of undergrowth before throwing it onto a large pile of leaves and branched on the left of the ship. Daniel nodded at Willow who was just looking at the ship before she ran her fingers around the flat part of the end they were facing. She then looked at a small button of her right and went to press it before stepping back. The others watched as one end opened with a hiss. A ramp started to come down forty five degrees, when it suddenly stopped. Willow frowned at it when it suddenly started to move again; and soon the ramp that led to the inside of the ship was completely down touching the ground.

"Willow?" asked Major Carter.

" _Gateship"_ said Willow looking at the Major, and then she walked into the ship while Daniel translated what Willow had just said.

"A ship that goes through the Stargate" said Colonel O'Neill whistling as he followed Willow into the ship while he looked around the inside of the vessel. He knew by instinct that even though the ship looked brand new, it must be thousands of years old.

"Willow" said Tara, "how did you know about this ship? Did you get information from the database, or…"

" _This… mine"_ said Willow as she looked at Tara who translated what Willow said before the redhead looked at the console in front of her. Willow then sat down on the control chair in the cockpit and put her hands on the controls in front of her; however, where the ship would have immediately activated.. nothing happened.

"No.. power" said Willow in English as she got up and walked past the Major and Daniel while Colonel O'Neill replaced her on the seat behind the console. The redhead walked to the rear of the ship, she wanted to check if there was still power available in the capacitors when their radios switched on and a message came through the Stargate saying that Teal'c had found a ship, that he was preparing to leave for Earth.

Willow then looked at Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill whole shaking her head vigorously.

"No… no…" said Willow as the redhead started to rub the both sides of her head, "stay… Teal'c… stay."

"Hey Doc" said Colonel O'Neill as he talked to Dr. Weir who was the one who had contacted them earlier, "tell Teal'c to stay where he is… I… I think we'll be going to him."

"Understood" said Dr. Weir when Willow suddenly stopped rubbing her head and stood with her hands by her side. To the others in SG-1, it seemed as if she was looking off into the distance when she suddenly, without a word, started to walk towards a seat on the port side of the ship. Willow then lifted the top part of the seat back, revealing a hollow space that was filled with an object that was wrapped in cloth. The redhead the leaned in to take it out, and then she turned and handed it to Major Carter who opened the cloth and was surprised to find an object that looked like a crystalline container. She could see the multicoloured crystals as she examined the device before looking up at Willow.

"This is the Potentia?" asked the Major as Willow titled her head and looked on confused.

" _Potentia?"_ asked Tara in Ancient.

Willow just nodded her head before she silently turned around and headed out of the ship. Once she stood on the ground, Willow looked back into the ship and nodded towards the trail.

"Will" said Buffy while Tara translated, "this ship… can't we use it on Earth and… I don't know.. find those outposts?"

Willow shook her head while using her hand to signal the blonde Slayer that the ship couldn't fly since it had no power. The redhead then turned and started walking down the trail with SG-1, particularly Colonel O'Neill, frowning at how fast Willow seemed to be taken over by the information of the database she downloaded. As they walked down the trail, the Colonel told Major Carter that he'll get Dr. Weir to send her and another team back to Kheb so that the ship could be examined.

It wasn't too long before SG-1 had reached the Stargate where Buffy dialled the DHD and then Daniel input the IDC into the panel he was wearing on his vest. Once they were given the green light to enter the event horizon, the team reached the SGC and headed down the ramp where they were met by Dr. Weir and the Vice-President who was standing next to her.

"Well, well" said Kinsey as he smirked at the team as they walked down the ramp, which was when he noticed Major Carter holding something covered in cloth in her arms, "I see you found something? Maybe you give it to me and I'll give it to people who can actually handle…."

"Dr. Weir" said Daniel as he interrupted the Vice-President, "Willow didn't say why, but we needed to come back and…"

"Lieutenant?" asked Kinsey as he looked at Willow, who looked back at him while tilting her head to the side, "you brought them back? Why?"

"She can't understand you, sir" said Major Carter.

"But she's got an idea of what we need to do" said Colonel O'Neill, "I think this is the same thing I did when I made that…. Thing… that battery thing when I downloaded the library into my head the first time."

"Yea" said Daniel as he looked at the Colonel and then at Willow, "this is exactly what happened with Jack."

"So what you're saying is that Lt. Rosenberg's been compromised by alien technology" said Kinsey as he looked at everyone, "I've said this earlier, and I'll say this again.. I will not have someone with a mental illness anywhere close to anything dangerous; anything as dangerous as the technology that…"

"She's done this to help us" said Tara.

"Now she's given us a piece of technology we could use" said Kinsey as he looked at the cloth, and then at the Major, "right?"

"Yes, but…" said the Major when Kinsey interrupted her again.

"Now that we've settled that" said Kinsey as he looked at the S.F's, "take Lt. Rosenberg to her quarters, and make sure she stays there until…"

"Belay that order" said Colonel O'Neill as he walked down the ramp and onto the floor before he turned towards Kinsey, "you're willing to put this planet in danger so that…."

"I'm looking out for this command" said the Vice-President, "having someone who obviously has mental issues and…"

"That's not it" said Tara shaking her head before she looked at Kinsey again, "there's something else and…"

"Take her away" said Kinsey as the rest of SG-1 walked down while the S.F's looked confused at each other and then at Willow, Kinsey, and then at Colonel O'Neill.

"This is a direct order" said Kinsey when Dr. Weir stepped forward and told the S.F's to ignore Kinsey's orders. It was then that Willow looked at the diplomat in front of her before she walked towards her. The redhead, who was feeling a sudden rush of power, grabbed the hand of the surprised Dr. Weir before the latter woman found herself in a hallway. Dr. Weir then turned around when she heard a very familiar voice behind her. She saw herself in a white-cream coloured dress running towards a long haired redhead.

"Captain Rosenberg… Captain…" said Dr. Weir's duplicate when the vision was gone and Dr. Weir was back in the Gateroom facing Willow, who took her hand off the dark haired woman's hand and stepped back.

"That… how?" asked a confused Dr. Weir as she tried to get her mind around the few seconds of images she had just seen, "Lieutenant, what… what was that…?"

Everyone could see Willow as she closed her eyes and struggled to speak. It was as if the redhead was having trouble finding the words while she was shaking her head. She then walked towards Dr. Weir while gritting her teeth as she tried to just speak; Willow knew that she had already gone past the point of no return as she swam towards Atlantis. She could feel the immense pressure of the data around her pushing down on her faster than she anticipated before she held on to Dr. Weir's shoulder, and looked at her with sad eyes.

"Alone" said Willow as she tilted her head before looking at Kinsey, and then narrowing her eyes at him before she started to walk out of the Gateroom.

"Guards" said Kinsey as Willow stopped and looked back over her shoulder, "take her to her…"

"Belay that" said both Colonel O'Neill, and Dr. Weir together before they looked at each other. The Colonel then motioned towards Dr. Weir, who nodded her head before telling Kinsey in no uncertain terms that the President was the one who put her in charge of the SGC. She then ordered Buffy, Tara, and Daniel to stay with Willow before looking at Major Carter and telling her to have the device sent to her team. She then looked at Willow and asked her to get on with whatever she was supposed to do.

Without any acknowledgement, Willow then walked through one of the Gateroom doors.

"You just made a big mistake" said Kinsey as he looked at Dr. Weir, "I'm on my way back to Washington, the President will know everything that's just happened… including you putting the safety of this world into the hands of someone under alien control, and someone who also has a mental illness."

"The President will have my report" said Dr. Weir as she looked at Kinsey, who then walked away. Dr. Weir then looked at Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill and asked them to do what they needed to do. As they walked away, the diplomat turned to look at the Stargate as she thought about what she had just seen, 'I have to ask her about it later on, that was just… surreal.'

Shaking her head, Dr. Weir then walked up the stairs to the Control Room before she headed up another flight of stairs that took her to the briefing room, and then her office.

**Praclarush Taonas, one and a half day travel time.**

Once Willow had gotten all the things that she needed, including four naquada reactors, in ten large metal cases – SG-1 as well as Tara, headed through to the Stargate to a planet that the rebel Jaffa called Cosaris. It was there that they had put the cases into a cargo ship that Teal'c managed to retrieve hours ago. Once they had placed everything they needed into the ship, Willow.. who had been silent all this while.. quietly sat down on one side of the ship while she massaged her head. At the same time, Tara sat next to the redhead while Buffy and the others secured the cases. Tara leaned back against the inside wall of the ship just as Willow put her head on the blonde's shoulder, and closed her eyes.

Tara saw Buffy smiling at her, and as the former looked at the top of the red haired woman's head, all she wanted to do was kiss it. However, Major Carter then decided to sit next to Tara while Teal'c sat on the pilot's seat. It was a few minutes later that Teal'c had finished all pre-flight checks just as Bra'tac, and another companion named Ronon walked into the ship. Ronon was the owner of the ship, and he had insisted on coming along for the trip to Praclarush… he was also interested in what Ancient weapons they would find.

However, once he boarded the ship, Tara started to feel uncomfortable. She remembered that during one of her regular medical checks with Thor the grey alien had told her that while magic existed everywhere in the universe.. and that Tara was correct in saying that anyone could control magic with enough training, the Furling gene enabled a person to access and wield magic much more easily; in addition to granting certain emphatic abilities to certain individuals. It was that emphatic ability that was used by SG teams on diplomatic missions when they took Tara along which, combined with her uncanny ability to give any team that had her with them have amazing luck in regards to not being attacked by the Goa'uld, helped form diplomatic ties with various civilizations. In this instance though, Tara had a funny feeling that her luck so far would end. While Willow was sleeping on the blonde woman's shoulder, Tara turned to look at Major Carter and told her that she was getting a funny feeling from the newcomer, Ronon.

"You sure?" whispered the Major as Tara nodded her head while Ronon was telling Teal'c how excited he was to go along with them, that he was looking forward to finding something that would end Anubis and free their people.

"Usually I feel the hatred from the symbiotes" said Tara, "I mean that's kinda expected… that's how I know if there's a Goa'uld in the room. But from Ronon? I'm getting something different… it's… I mean it's darker and… and when I looked at his aura, it doesn't match with what he's saying. He's hiding something. And he's lying."

"Buffy" said Major Carter as she got up and nodded at Ronon while she took out her weapon and aimed it at the new Jaffa, "Tara said that he's not who he says he is."

"Ma'am?" asked Buffy confused as she looked at the Major; but despite her wondering what was going on… Buffy still grabbed the shocked Ronon and then held him against one of the walls. It was then that Bra'Tak, Teal'c, Daniel and Colonel O'Neill approached the Major and demanded to know what was going on.

"Tara read his aura, sir" said the Major as Colonel O'Neill looked back at Tara who nodded her head before he looked at Ronon again, "she said that he's lying about some things."

"So" said Buffy as she pulled Ronon towards her, and then slammed him against the wall of the ship before she had a better grip on his armour and lifted the man off the floor effortlessly, "something you wanna tell us?"

"What… what are you?" asked a surprised Ronon as he looked down at the petite girl who was holding him up with one hand. He looked at the others who were simply looking back at him, while the red-haired female was still fast asleep. He then looked at the girl again who was looking back at him.

"Question is, who are you?" asked Buffy.

"Ronon" said the Jaffa, "I am a warrior of the rebellion and…"

"He's lying" said Tara.

"Who is your master?" asked Teal'c.

"I have none" said the man, "now let me go… you agreed to…"

"You know" said Colonel O'Neill as he nodded at Tara, "she's a valuable part of my team, and she's never wrong about things like this. So, I'll ask you one last time… who do you work for?"

"I am a warrior of the Jaffa and…"

"He's lying" said Tara as she looked at Ronon, "there's something…. I just know he's lying."

"Are you certain, Tara Macaly?" asked Teal'c as he looked at the witch.

"Yes" said Tara as she confidently nodded her head.

"We can't risk it" said Daniel as he looked at Colonel O'Neill, "Jack, Tara's never been wrong and…"

"We will have the Jaffa here hold Ronon until we return" said Bra'tac, "and…"

"No!" shouted Ronon, "I will…."

"Oooo" said Buffy as Ronon started to struggle before she slammed him against the wall of the ship again, "who's your overdressed god?"

"I have no…" said Ronon when Buffy pulled him again before slamming him against the wall of the ship.

"I can go on with this the whole day" said Buffy before she looked back at Colonel O'Neill, "sir?"

"Yea" said the Colonel while shrugging his shoulders.

"Thank you, sir" said Buffy as she slammed him against the wall again, and again, and again before he screamed at Buffy to stop, "so who's your god?"

"Anubis" hissed Ronon as he glared at Buffy, "and he will…"

"Summers, get back" said the Colonel as Buffy moved to one side while he activated his Zat and shot at Ronon, who soon fell onto the floor. It was a few minutes later after the other Jaffa had taken Ronon away did the ship take off, and make its way to Praclarush.

TBC.

 


	78. Chapter 78

**Deep under Lantea's Ocean.**

Willow couldn't feel anything anymore.

Her body was numb because of the immense pressure from the water around her. In addition to the pressure, the temperature had suddenly dropped, making the redhead swim faster to keep herself warm.

She could see the city, she could see the unlit city that was only lit up thanks to the orange glow of the shield that was keeping the water away. Willow knew that she was close, so very close. She could see the central tower, she could see the various other towers that surrounded it. All the while she could hear voices that were coming through to her in the water… she recognized those voices, she knew she had to recognize the voices.

There was one voice in particular that made her heart jump and her body get warm for a few seconds. She would sometimes stop and listen to that calming voice. Willow could feel her mind filling with data as the voices vanished again before the redhead stated to swim for Atlantis. She knew that she needed to get to the city, but she didn't know why.

"Willow" said the voice, the calming voice, "I don't know if you can hear me, but the ship's running slow. You need to wake up. Please, Will.. wake up."

**Cargo Ship, hyperspace transit to Praclarush Taonas.**

Buffy was sitting next to Willow, who now had her head on the blonde Slayer's shoulder while she was fast asleep. It was seven hours into their little over thirty six hour journey to Praclarush Taonas that Teal'c discovered the Hyperdrive wasn't working at full capacity. Major Carter was in the engineering section looking through the crystals and changing some of the crystal's positions to improve power. Eventually, what she did restored full power to the Hyperdrive, but Teal'c said that the ship was still not running as fast as it should be.. which was what the Major agreed with when she came back to report to Colonel O'Neill.

It was then that Buffy, whose arm was around the redhead, looked down at her best friend and whispered for her to wake up.

"Will?" said Buffy gently, with no reaction from the redhead.

"Willow, baby?" said Tara softly as she whispered into the redhead's ear, "we need you back. Willow, I don't know if you can hear me, but the ship's running slow. You need to wake. Please, Will.. wake up. Honey, my honey.. please."

It was then that Willow shifted her head on Buffy's shoulder and groaned while the two blondes gently leaned Willow, who had already opened her eyes, back against the wall.

"Major" said Buffy as she looked back at Major Carter who, along with Colonel O'Neill, Daniel, and Bra'tac rushed over while Teal'c was still flying the ship, "Will's awake."

"Willow" said the Major as she crouched down while Tara brushed Willow's red hair from her forehead, "I don't know if you can understand me, but the engine's not working like it should. I've done what I can, but most of this technology's based on the ones used by the Ancients... you think you can get a work around?"

" _I know you"_ said Willow in a groggy state as she turned and looked at Buffy. She then put her hand on the Slayer's cheek and rubbed it with her thumb _, "I see her in your eyes. I see Sineya and.."_

"Willow" said the Major as the redhead turned to the sound of her voice after Daniel translated what the redhead said, "can you help?"

" _You are a knight, are you not?"_ asked Willow as she looked away from the Major and at Bra'tac who, after Daniel translated what Willow said followed by explaining the meaning of a knight, the Jaffa bowed his head respectfully _, "it has been so long since I have seen you. You are with people I have seen but never met, friends of my father when he was the arch-mage of the round."_

" _What?"_ asked Daniel in Ancient as he and Tara looked at each other, and then at Willow.

"Danny?" asked the Colonel as he looked at Daniel.

"She said the arch-mage of the round" replied Daniel, "her father was the arch-mage of the round."

"The what of the round?" asked the Colonel.

"The round?" replied a confused Major Carter.

"Mage is a magician" said Tara, "a very powerful magician. Her father was… no… the round.. Dr. Jackson?"

"The round table" said Daniel when Willow interrupted his explanation.

" _I have only ever seen you, your highness"_ said Willow as she looked at the Colonel, as did the others after Daniel and Tara translated what Willow just said, " _my father was your advisor. I believe you knew the truth about who he was and…"_

"Your highness?" asked the Colonel surprised, "say what now?"

" _Guinevere"_ said Willow as she looked at the Major while she put her hands on her cheeks… cheeks that turned red when Daniel told her what Willow just said. At the same time, the Colonel coughed nervously while Willow continued talking, _"you are still as beautiful as ever. I must seem so… wait… where is my father? Should he not be with you on this quest.. you have brought your knights with you, have you not and…"_

" _Willow… Athena"_ said Tara as Willow turned to the blonde witch and smiled _, "this is a quest to save Earth. We need your help in making this ship faster.. and who is your father."_

" _My love"_ said Willow as she hugged Tara _, "I don't know what's happening, Tara. I have moments of lucidity and… and this is one of them. I… so much information. My memories and information… my mind's burning and… the ship… the ship…"_

Willow quickly got up and nearly stumbled before Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill caught her, while Tara and Buffy stood up. Willow then looked at both the Colonel, and Major Carter before she started giggling as she looked at the both of them.

"Willow" said the Major when the redhead stopped giggling and then immediately walked towards the rear. It wasn't too long before Willow was silently working on the Hyperdrive with the Major who occasionally looked at the redhead. It was during what seemed like the twentieth glance, that the Major looked behind her to make sure that the two of them were alone before she looked at Willow again. She then walked around the panel as Willow shifted three more crystals from another panel for the fourth time; the blonde officer then put her hand on Willow's. The redhead looked at her and gave a small smile.

"You called me Guinevere" whispered the Major as Willow titled her head and looked at the Major again, "Guinevere? Remember? Can you understand me?"

The Major saw Willow just looking back at her again before she looked at the panel and made sure that all the crystals were where they were supposed to be. Willow then stood up, as did the Major, before she pointed at the Zat, and then at the crystals.

"You want me to fire?" asked the Major.

All Willow could do was point at the Zat, and then at the crystals again.

Nodding her head, the Major fired the weapon. She watched the energy crackling on the crystals just as there was a jolt and the engines started to hum. After they closed the panelling, the redhead looked at the Major and smiled before she stumbled back.

"I need help!" shouted the Major as she caught Willow in time before she fell, just as Buffy Daniel and Colonel O'Neill ran in, "Willow? Willow?"

" _Atlantus"_ said Willow as she closed her eyes again.

**Deep under Lantea's Ocean.**

Willow opened her eyes again as she floated down towards the city; all her strength was sapped in trying reach out for the others while they were flying the ship. Willow had no idea how much time passed by, all she knew that she still had a considerable distance to swim towards Atlantis.

'At least my body should be going on autopilot now' thought Willow to herself as she remembered seeing Tara smile, and then the Colonel's nervousness and the Major's embarrassment when she revealed that they looked similar to the King Arthur and Guinevere that she had seen on Camelot, 'yeah… that was involuntary. But their reaction was so funny.'

Willow smiled as she started swimming again. She kept on going for what seemed like hours when she found herself closer to the Atlantis shield. Swimming faster and faster, Willow didn't know what else she could do except slam her hand on the shield itself, which she did. The redhead closed her eyes as a bright white light washed over her as she saw visions of her piloting the ship over Praclarush, then putting on the environmental suits so that they could ring down to the outpost on the surface. She saw herself walking to the control chair while the others were asking her if everything was alright. Willow saw herself looking at her team before she saw on the chair which lit up, as did the pedestal it sat on. She watched as Buffy and Tara walked around the pedestal while Willow pressed into a gel like substance at the hand rest of the chair which brought up a shield, as well as breathable atmosphere. They then watched the redhead take off the breathing apparatus and then lean back on the chair while the front section brought her feet up just before a hologram formed above the redhead showing the planets that the Ancients colonized. They saw Willow switch the view to Earth… Earth as it looked like millions of years ago.

They saw the continents on the image move swiftly to their present position, with markers showing every outpost on Earth; and the one they needed to go to as an orange pulsing dot.

"Death Valley" said Colonel O'Neill.

"Sunnydale" said Buffy.

"The one we need to go to is Antarctica" said the Major before she looked at the redhead, "Willow?"

" _Subo Glacius."_ Said the redhead as she sat back up and put on her breathing apparatus again, as did the others.

"It's under the ice" said Tara as they watched Willow get off the chair and then to her left, where she knelt down and waved her hand over a panel. Everyone watched as Willow took out the Potentia before they got out of there, just as a quake was starting to erupt.

Then there was another flash of white.

Willow opened her eyes, finding herself lying on a hard surface, and looking through the shield at the ocean beyond. The redhead slowly stood up and turned around to see the darkened city n front of her as lights started to come online… it was as if the city recognized it had an occupant. She saw the piers light up, and then the outer towers, and then the inner towers, followed by the central tower.

From where she was standing, Atlantis looked breathtaking as Willow's lips turned into a huge grin.

"Hello, old friend" said Willow as she looked down at herself, only to find herself not in the BDU's of the SGC, but instead she was wearing the full sleeved cream and tanned uniform she used to wear on Atlantis. She reached behind her and smiled when she found her hair was as long as it used to be when she was in high school, but it was now tied in a pony-tail. Willow then looked around searching for something that could tell her how long it had been since they were on Praclarush.

It was then she had a strange feeling.

A pain in her chest, followed by a hum from the city itself; As if telling her that danger was coming.

"The control chair" shouted Willow as she ran as fast as she could. As she ran, she saw fast flashes of what was happening in the real world.

She could hear a battle outside the cargo ship while Buffy and Colonel O'Neill was helping her remove some items from the rings. She heard the Major saying that Willow needed to reengineer the ring transport to create a beam that would dig into the outpost, that the transmission beam couldn't travel through a mile of ice. Willow then heard Tara's voice insisted on going down with the, while she ran into one of the towers before she turned into another hallway while breathing hard. Willow saw the short ranger transporter in the distance, and she ran harder.

Then there was another flash of light at the same time that Willow entered the transporter.

As Willow ran again, she saw herself walking towards the control chair in the outpost.

So Willow ran harder until she could see the Atlantis control chair in the distance.

Then there was another flash of white as Willow saw herself showing her team the stasis chamber, the reason why they had to find out the location of this particular outpost. She then saw herself walking through Anubis' hologram while the others took their places as the rings activated, and Kull Warriors were sent down.

She then heard weapons fire as more warriors came down while Colonel O'Neill told Tara to protect Willow at all costs.

Then there was another flash of light.

Finally at the Atlantis Control Chair, Willow sat down and activated it… just as she activated the one in Antarctica at the same time. There was then another flash of light as Willow brought up her head up and saw Tara at the pedestal telling everyone to fall back to her. The redhead felt a surge of power as Tara raised a shield after the others had retreated to the pedestal as more Kull warriors were sent down.

All fired their plasma repeaters at the shield.

She then saw Colonel O'Neill looking at her, telling her that whatever she needed to do… it was time.

Willow closed her eyes and started to take deep breathes before laying her head back on the seat. The redhead could already feel the strength leaving her body; but she knew the mission wasn't over yet. Then she suddenly felt warmth going through her body as she commanded the silo beneath them activate; she mentally checked all thirty thousand drones available and then conducted a scan of the space right above them, and then the ships in orbit. At the same time, Willow also targeted the Kull warriors that were shooting at Tara's shield which was holding for now.

She could see everything; the image of Earth, the ships that were ready to fire, the Prometheus heading for Anubis' mother ship, the death gliders attacking teh F-302's… the chair was showing it all in her minds eye.

'Launch' thought Willow as she looked through her mind's eye as the drones flew out of the snow and ice, the top of the silo falling away as the shining yellow weapons followed the redhead's every command. She already identified herself and her friends as not hostile, as well as the cargo ship above them, and the Prometheus which she could see was heading towards Anubis' ship while taking on fire, and Willow ordered the drones not to destroy the F-302's that were still in the air.

Tara and the others looked on while covering their eyes as the bright yellow weapons disintegrated the Kull warriors before Tara put down her shield and they looked back at the redhead who was still covered in light from above the chair as it turned ninety degrees. They could not see what was happening, but Willow could.. she was with the drones as the destroyed the remaining Al'Kesh and Death gliders, she was with the drones as they went around the Prometheus which promptly moved away before the drones broke through the shields of Anubis' fleet like they weren't there. It was only the crew of the Prometheus who gave the SGC and the President an account of yellow objects ripping apart the Goa'uld fleet that was in orbit.

And then just as it began, it was finally over.

"Willow" said Tara as she rushed to the redhead whose chair had finally straightened out and deactivated was looking pale while trying to keep her eyes open, "Willow, can you hear me?"

"Red?" said Colonel O'Neill as Tara stepped to one side with her hand on her mouth in shock while Buffy rushed to the blonde witch, while at the same time looked at Willow with worry, "Red, we're taking you back to the SGC… it's just a…"

" _Do… dor…. Mat… dormata"_ said Willow as Daniel looked at the device that the redhead pointed out when they first arrived at the outpost.

"Listen to me, Red" said the Colonel as he put both hands on her cheeks, cheeks which were getting cold, "we'll find a way to get that stuff out of your head and… Carter! Why isn't Thor getting here? Doesn't she have those… those nanite thingabobs?"

"I.. I don't know sir" said the Major as she looked on in worry with a hand on her head.

"Jack" said Daniel worriedly as he pointed at the device, "get her here now. I don't know what this is but… Willow knows what's best for her so don't waste time… come on."

"O'Neill" said Teal'c as Willow smiled at the Colonel before closing her eyes, "we must get her to the device."

"Sir" said Buffy as she rushed to the chair while the Colonel stepped back in shock while Buffy picked up the redhead and then rushed to the device. She was looking at Willow who opened her eyes again and smiled as Buffy, and Teal'c straightened her before gently pushing her into the recessed section of the device; the stasis chamber.

Through tear stained eyes, Tara stood next to the Major who was holding onto the witch's arm tightly as a blue light in the recess turned on and illuminated the redhead. Tara was looking at Willow as Buffy and Teal'c stepped back while the redhead looked at her; just as everything around the blonde witch melted away.

Almost immediately, Tara found herself in a brightly lit Gateroom looking at a strange Stargate, it was one she never saw before. She looked at the stained glass behind it which shone thanks to the bright sunlight that was shining through. It was then she sensed she wasn't alone.

"Tara? Baby?"

Tara turned around to see Willow in a strange uniform as she stood at the foot of what seemed to be a central staircase that led to consoles on the second level. In all honestly though, the only person that mattered was the one standing in front of her at that moment. Tara cried as she ran and hugged Willow, giving the redhead a deep kiss before holding her tight and resting her hand on her shoulder.

"I love you, Will" said Tara whispering into the redhead's ear before they kissed each other again, "I love you so much, come back."

"Something I wanna show you" said Willow suddenly as she broke the hug and then turned around. Willow pulled Tara up the stairs and then to a doorway behind the empty control room, and then onto a large balcony that looked out into the surface of Lantea's ocean, "welcome to Atlantis, Tara."

"Goddess" said Tara as she looked at the view of the towers and the ocean before looking at a smiling Willow.

"I know what you're gonna say" said Willow gently as she held Tara's hands, "right now, I'm gone.."

"No" said Tara, "don't say that and…."

"Remember what you said your mom told you?" asked Willow, "that to get me back, you have to lose me.. or something to that effect. My point is that… that this where you lose me, Tara."

"Will" said Tara as she pulled the redhead close and kissed her again.

Willow then broke the kiss while one hand was around the blonde's back, and the other one on her cheek.

"Make sure Colonel O'Neill eats well and…"

"Willow" said Tara as the redhead shook her head before telling the blonde that this was happening, that the process was about to begin.. the process that would save her life. She told Tara that so far, only a second had passed in the real world.. and Willow had a lot of requests. Tara reluctantly nodded her head, allowing Willow to continue, and then after each request, the redhead kissed her girlfriend.

"Make sure Major Carter eats something… you know she forgets" said Willow as she gave Tara a peck on her lips, "stay close to Buffy, don't make her go all emo and stuff… tell Dawn I'll be back, tell Faith to be cool, Tell Daniel that I know he can't wait to look through the city.. oh same goes for Major Carter too. Tell Teal'c to relax… take him to Disneyland will you? He hasn't been there yet. Promise me."

"Will.."

"Promise" said Willow with a small smile.

"I promise" said Tara nodding her head.

"As for you" said Willow as she wiped her tears, and Tara wiped the redhead's, "when I get back, we're gonna announce our engagement. But before that, the first thing? I mean depending on how long I'm stuck here? I demand a striptease, and then a possible threesome with you and Faith."

Tara smiled as she hugged Willow again, and before long she started to laugh as she tightened her hold.

"I was just kidding about the Faith bit, but then again… I've kinda had a crush on Buffy since high school now that I think about it and…. hey" said Willow as Tara grinned at her and gave her a slap on her upper arm, "we did just save the world. I think I deserve a reward."

"Fine" said Tara as she rolled her eyes, "I'll think about it… but if she says no, then I choose strawberries and whipped cream."

"Agreed" said Willow grinning and nodding her head excitedly. It was a few seconds later that the smile on Willow's face vanished, replaced with a more solemn expression, "I have to go, Tara".

"Let me go with you" said Tara just before she felt something pushing her away, "Willow?"

"I'll be waiting for you" said Willow as Tara found themselves back in the Gateroom, "in the meantime, tell the Colonel that there's some fish here that grow really big."

"Will" said Tara as she reached out for the redhead while felling another jolt, "Willow!"

"Be safe, Tara" was the last thing Willow said before Tara found herself back in the outpost with tears streaming down her eyes.

" _Aveo"_ said the redhead as ice started to form around her. They looked on as the ice became thicker and thicker until they couldn't see the redhead, but a few seconds later there was another light that flashed before the ice became transparent; with everyone able to see Willow looking back at them.

"She said goodbye" said Daniel softly as Buffy stood in front of the ice block and put her hand on the smooth surface.

"Prometheus to SG-1, come in SG-1" said General Hammond's voice on the radio while they just milled around with Daniel hugging a crying Tara, and Major Carter looking at the ground before looking back at Willow. None of them answered General Hammond the first time, it took another radio call for Colonel O'Neill to answer, and acknowledge the man, "the President gives you thanks, SG-1. Is everyone safe, Jack?"

"You need to come down here, sir" said the Colonel as he looked at Willow, "we have a slight problem."

TBC.

 


	79. Chapter 79

**Ancient Outpost, Antarctica,**

It was ten minutes later when General Hammond ringed down to the Ancient outpost from orbit did he notice that something was seriously wrong. He looked at Colonel O'Neill who met with him and noticed that the way he was speaking wasn't that of someone who won, instead it was that of someone who lost. He wanted to ask the Colonel almost immediately if the team was safe, if they had any injuries as he and three S.F's walked away from the ring platform… but he didn't have to say a single thing after the Colonel stepped to the side, giving the bald man a good view of the room in front of him.. as well as the figure trapped in what seemed like ice..

He looked stunned at the pale redhead who was encased in the block of ice. To the General, it seemed as if she was looking back at him directly before he turned to the Colonel and asked him what happened. While the General walked with him to the device where Willow was being held, he listened to the Colonel's quick report while glancing at Major Carter who was looking at a strange chair; he could see that the officer was trying her best to keep busy while Daniel and Buffy were walking around the outpost.

'Probably trying to keep busy by searching for doors, or more rooms like this one' thought the General to himself while he continued to listen to the Colonel tell him what just happened.

He then looked at Teal'c who was standing next to Tara, who was leaning against a pillar while she continued to look at the frozen redhead.

"That's the gist of it, sir" said the Colonel as they arrived at the device while the General put his hand on the ice, "now she's… well."

"Do we know what this is?" asked the General as he looked at Major Carter who walked over to him, and then looked at the frozen Willow, before looking at the General again.

"We believe it's a stasis pod, sir" said the Major.

"It.. it is" said Tara as she wiped her eyes before nodding her head at the General, "before she.. Willow was frozen, she told me that she had to do this to.. to save her life."

"She told you?" asked the General as he looked at Tara who nodded her head and slowly walked over to Willow's pod and looked at the redhead, before looking at the others.. all the while, Daniel and Buffy found a room somewhere in the rear of the outpost that was empty except for a desk and a bed. Back in the central room with the chair and the stasis pod, Tara told the the General about the vision she had seen.. that Willow seemed to pull her in into a recreation of Atlantis in her mind. Tara told General Hammond that Willow needed this to happen; that it would save her until they got her out."

"The only way are the Asgard" said Colonel O'Neill.

"We've tried contacting them even before I was replaced" said the General, "no luck then, and still no luck now. What happened to those nanites in her blood? The ones that Thor tracked the last time she… died."

"She's not dead, sir" said the Major, "maybe they believed that with a near ascended body, that Willow would be safe so they didn't feel a need for any nanites in her blood to alert them of any danger to her; or, the last time they were alerted was after her death. They said that her mind was still working and… maybe keeping her in this stasis pod is preventing a signal from going out to the Asgard. But.. but I'm not saying we bring her out of it; I could be wrong, sir, and.. and it's just a theory."

"We'll continue contacting the Asgard but… but I just received news from the President" said General Hammond, "Dr. Weir's been notified of this as well. We are to halt all Gate activity until an international committee decides what to do with this site as per the Antarctic Treaty."

"But…." said Tara as the others looked on surprised, "Willow… the Asgard… I mean we'll need the Gate and…."

"I'll talk to the President" said General Hammond, "I wasn't aware of what happened to Major Rosenberg so I'll make a request that we send teams to search for a way to contact the Asgard; probably through Cimmeria."

"The Asgard teacher on that world may be able to help us" said Teal'c as General Hammond nodded his head.

"In the meantime" said the General as he looked around the large room they were in, "there will be a scientific expedition heading here from McMurdo in two days. They'd be taking over the research of this…."

"Guys" said Buffy as she ran back into the central room. It was then that he blonde saw General Hammond and stood up straight, only for the bald man to set the girl at ease, and then asked her continue, "thanks, sir. Anyway, Daniel found a computer.. well, an Ancient style of computer that's got access to a database. He's already looking through it and… well, he's excited."

"Go on" said the General as he nodded at Major Carter who began to follow Buffy to Daniel's position before she looked at Willow and brushed the ice, and then left. Once they were gone, the Colonel then told the General that Willow showed them a few more outposts that existed on Earth all over the world, with two of them being in the United States.

"One zoomed in to somewhere in the Sunnydale desert" said the Colonel, "Daniel wrote down the coordinates. And the other one was in Death Valley, the space monkey's got the coordinates on that place too."

"Is it like this?" asked the General as she looked around before the Colonel told him that he wasn't sure, and that instead of something like this.. it could be locations where they'd have access to Ancient knowledge, or better yet.. Ancient weapons.

"I'll talk to the President and Dr. Weir" said the General before he turned to Tara who was looking at Willow again, "Tara?"

"Oh…." Said Tara as she looked at the General, "sorry, I was just…"

"We'll get her back" said the General as Tara nodded her head, "in the meantime, I'd like to keep Lt. Rosenberg's status classified for a few more days. If we can contact the Asgard, then that's great for us.. we can ask them to retrieve that information from her mind."

"Once they have removed the Ancient knowledge" said Teal'c, "Willow Rosenberg will recover almost immediately, just as O'Neill once did."

"He's right, sir" said the Colonel who looked at the General, and then at the , "Tara, once that's out of her head.. she's golden."

While Tara nodded her head, the General then told her that he can't hide her status from her friends indefinitely. He told them that it would be wrong to keep this hidden from her friends; that Faith, Giles, Dawn, Cordelia, and the others in Sunnydale who are aware of the SGC will eventually need to know the truth, as would Joyce in Edina. But her parents, who at the mention of their names by the General led Tara to say that they rarely call her except for just a two minute conversation asking if she was doing alright, would come to know that she was just missing.

"I know you said that her parents rarely call" said the General, "but they do call so that they could talk to her. And it would be cruel for them if you keep on saying that she's not available or…"

"But… but they know that she expects nothing from them and…" said Tara.

"Even so, Tara Maclay" said Teal'c, "they are still her family. What will they do if we cannot take Willow Rosenberg out of stasis?"

That was something that Tara hadn't thought about while she was looking at the redhead encased in ice. Tara remembered Willow telling her that she'll come back to her, that it'll take some time but she'll come back to her.

The truth was she didn't want to think about it. While the voices around her vanished, it was just her and Willow in the room looking back at each other.

**UCLA, three weeks later, 1300 hours.**

It had been three weeks since Willow's stasis, and so far there had been no sign of the Asgard. There was no response to any and all subspace messages to Thor, and the Asgard teacher on Cimmeria said that the Supreme Commander was on a mission of great importance. It was at that time that SG-1 found out that the Asgard were losing the war against the replicators, and that Thor was in the thick of it… but the mission he was carrying out was only known to the High Council. The Asgard teacher said that his people were preparing to leave their galaxy, that they were still defending their planets… that they needed everything they had to protect their worlds from the replicators; that they would most likely fall in a period of not more than six months. The Asgard teacher looked up at Buffy and the others before apologizing that he was not able to help… that he did not have a crystal storage device that would be able to absorb the knowledge from Willow's mind.

But it was too late.

The President had no choice but to stop all Stargate operations, while the international committee that makes up the Antarctic Treaty resolved talks about jurisdiction. In the meantime, everyone knew that Willow would be stuck in the Antarctic. To keep her company, and study the database.. Daniel told Dr. Weir that he and Tara wanted to head to the outpost once jurisdiction was settled so that they could find out where Atlantis was located, while finding a way to get Willow out of the Stasis pod safely.

While the SGC continued trying to contact Thor; Tara, Colonel O'Neill and Buffy were walking on linoleum floors towards a door at the end of the hallway they were in. Tara was in a formal suit and skirt while the Colonel and Buffy were in their dress blues… all wondering how they were going to repeat the cover story they were given in regards to Willow's status without losing their composure. The Colonel would know that if it was him in that Stasis pod, then it would be different.. he had no biological family and he was divorced from Sara, the communication between them was virtually non-existent. The only people that he cared for were in the SGC; but Willow had a family.. she had friends and a father, and mother.

The past few days they had been calling her cell phone asking to talk to the redhead for their weekly two minute chats, and Tara had been telling them that she was on a classified mission overseas. That was the same excuse for three weeks, until the President told General Hammond to list her as missing; which she technically was.

Back in the present, it was the Colonel who knocked on Sheila Rosenberg's door before they heard a voice saying, "student hours are from two to four, come back then."

The three of them looked at each other before looking at the door of the visiting professor in the Psychology department.

"Mrs. Rosenberg" said Buffy as she knocked on the wooden door again, "this is Buffy Summers. Willow's friend?"

They three of them heard the sound of a chair being rolled back, before hearing the sounds of footsteps coming towards the door which soon opened as a red haired woman of about five feet and four inches stood at the doorway and looked at the three of them.

"Hi, Mrs. Rosenberg" said Buffy.

"Buffy?" asked the older redhead, "what's going on? Tara?"

"Mrs Rosenberg, my name is Colonel Jack O'Neill. I understand that your husband's also working in this university?"

"Yes, but… where's Willow?"

"Ma'am" said the Colonel, "please call your husband, please."

"He's in class" said Sheila as she looked at the three of them, "where's Willow? Where…."

"Mrs. Rosenberg" said Tara gently as she held her hand while trying to remain as calm as possible, "I.. we need you to call Ira. Please, it… it's something the both of you need to know."

The only time that Tara had met Sheila was during a visit to Colorado Springs for Willow's birthday…and that was only because she was heading to Denver for a conference. She had seen Sheila remain slightly cool with Willow, with the younger redhead being the same towards her mother… but the blonde witch could tell that despite her outward emotions.. Willow loved her parents deeply.

Tara knew it was the same with Sheila, there was a part of her that was aloof… but there was another part that loved Willow; even though she played it cool on the outside.

But the Sheila that she saw rushed to her phone and called her husband before cursing… something she nor Willow ever heard Sheila do… and then calling her husband's graduate assistant for the current school term. She told the young man on the other end of the line to tell her husband to meet her in her office.

"Now, Carl" said Sheila, "do it now… tell him to get here now. It's…. tell him it's Willow."

"What happened?" asked Sheila softly after she put the phone down and looked up at the Colonel, and then at Buffy, and Tara, "where's Willow? And why are you in your uniforms and.. and I've seen the movies and…"

"Ma'am" said the Colonel, "we can let you everything once your husband arrives, all.. all I can tell you is that we believe she may be alive and.."

"Mrs. Rosenberg" said Buffy as she walked over to the woman she had never even seen cry, not even after almost burning her, Willow, and Amy at the stake, "it's better if Mr. Rosenberg's here too and..."

The three of them knew the cover story. It was similar to what happened to Daniel a few months ago when he was kidnapped in South America during the search for the Tel'Chak device, an Ancient device that was the basis for the Goa'uld sarcophagus technology. The story would be that Willow was sent with a team to retrieve a classified satellite that crashed the previous night; she was supposed to be assisting another officer in retrieving the satellite, along with a team of scientists.

And they had lost contact with the team two days ago; they were assumed taken by rebels in the area.. and the Air Force was searching for them.

That was what they would tell Sheila and Ira once the latter arrived; which was ten minutes later, and once he stepped into the office, Colonel O'Neill closed the door behind them.

TBC.

 


	80. Chapter 80

**Stargate Command, one month later.**

It was slow going for SG-1 given that one of their own was still stuck in Antarctica with the signatories to the Antarctic treaty still arguing among themselves in regards to jurisdiction of the Ancient outpost. Even Daniel and Tara's planned trip to the site was put on hold for the fifth time in as many weeks. Tara could only keep busy working with Daniel in his lab, while Buffy would try everything to keep her mind off the fact that her best friend was stuck in ice by punching the punching bag in front of her. She kept on punching the nag until she punched her arm right through and sighed; it was the seventh bag that she destroyed. Stepping back and then taking the bag off the hook that it was hanging from while the Marines in the gym could just look on with their mouth open at the petite blonde who was holding onto the leaking bag with one hand, Buffy then glanced over at Teal'c who was using the free weights, trying to keep his mind off the situation they were in. Buffy put the punching bag down to one side on the gym before she stood up with her eyes wide open. She then looked back at Teal'c and told him that she had an idea.. a crazy idea but an idea. Teal'c watched the blonde Slayer run out of the door before he could put down the weights and then run after her.

Teal'c wondered what idea Buffy had since none of them were able to use the Stargate due to the program was temporarily shut down, officially for a review, but unofficially to give them leverage against the other Antarctic Treaty nations.

The President said that missions would stop for three months while they discussed jurisdiction; however missions would start up again after the three months, and if the nations of the Treaty didn't come up with a plan by then to at each allow scientific research of the facility, then they'd lose out access to finding and examining new technology through the Stargate.

Even with that ultimatum, the nations still couldn't come to an agreement with only a little over a month left in the deadline. The President had been keeping Dr. Weir informed that the signatory nations were doing their best to come up with a deal of some sort, but it was going to take time.

It was something that Dr. Weir wasn't happy to hear given the dangers that the Earth still faced from the Goa'uld. But she was aware that they had to wait, and all she could do was stay in her office and read mission reports. As for Colonel O'Neill, he was in Major Carter's lab, just sitting in one corner while the blonde woman was looking at the designs for the cargo ship that Willow modified using her Ancient knowledge.

"So there's nothing?" asked the Colonel as the Major looked up from the computer and then at the Colonel.

"Sir?" asked the blonde.

"There's gotta be something" said the Colonel as he stood up, "you're the big brain, Carter. There's gotta be…"

"There's not, sir" said the Colonel shaking her head, "we've tried to contact the Asgard without any success, the Nox don't have the means to extract the information from Willow's mind, neither do the Orban, and the Tollan are gone… we're back to needing the Asgard and…"

"They're not answering calls" said the Colonel as he walked up to the blonde woman's workbench and put his hands on the table before looking away from the Major, "should have been me, Carter."

"Willow made a choice, sir" said the Major as she leaned back on her seat, "Tara talked to her mother and father last night, and they're asking if we've found her."

"I heard" said the Colonel, "Weir's talked to the IPR guys and they've asked if she thinks magic could work; maybe she's thinking about it once we get access to the outpost again. We're stuck in the meantime and.. and I don't like it."

"There's always your cabin, sir" said the Major as Colonel O'Neill shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't feel right enjoying myself while Red's still stuck and…."

"Major!" shouted Buffy's voice as Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill looked at each other and then at the door where the blonde Slayer stood panting with Teal'c coming up behind her, "ma'am, Sir…. I… um…."

"Summers?" asked the Colonel, "what's up?"

"The Asgard" said Buffy as she walked into the room with Teal'c behind her, his hands behind him.

"Yeah" said the Colonel, "we know, but we haven't been able to reach them.. remember?"

"Hala" said Buffy she looked at the Major whose eyes widened before she looked at the computer and typed some keys while the Colonel looked at Buffy and then at the Major with a look of confusion on his face before asking them what was going on.

"Carter? Summers?" asked the Colonel as Buffy rushed past the Colonel and around Major Carter's table until she stood next to the older cloned officer and looked at her screen while she continued to type, "people? Anyone?"

"Sir" said the Major as she looked at the Colonel, "the ship that Willow modified is the fastest, and most advanced ship in our arsenal."

"Yeah" said the Colonel, "that's what you said when you and the other eggheads started examining it last week but what does that have to do with…"

"Sir" said Buffy, "Hala's where the Asgard have that Time Dilation device to imprison the replicators. The same planet you and SG-1 travelled to before my time? Before Willow joined the team?"

"We were nearly trapped with the human form replicators, O'Neill" said Teal'c as the Colonel nodded his head when he finally recalled their misadventures on that planet.

"Yeah" replied the Colonel, "Fifth, I remember…"

"Well, sir" said Buffy, "the Asgard will wanna make sure that the human form replicators don't escape that trap. Which means that someone has to be watching over it while the other Asgard escape from that galaxy. But that would also mean that not all the replicators followed that order to come forth and be trapped so… maybe it didn't work, or maybe the plan went sideways and all we'll see is a destroyed Asgard ship with the replicators already escaped and taking over that galaxy and…"

"Dear God, breathe" said the Colonel as he looked at Buffy, who took in a deep breath, while the Major smiled before saying that what Buffy was trying to say that they don't know if the replicators beat the time dilation trap or not. That only way to find out would be to get to Hala using the cargo ship. The older blonde told the Colonel that either they'll make contact with the Asgard watching Hala, or they'll be killed by replicators if they escaped the trap. The Major said that she'll need to run additional tests on the Hyperdrive specifically but she was pretty sure that if she pushed the Hyperdrive to its absolute limits, they'll be able to reach Hala in ten days.

"Fifteen days max, sir" said the Major as she looked up from the computer.

"Find out" said the Colonel as he looked at the Major before looking at Buffy, "Summers, Teal'c.. with me. We're gonna talk to Weir."

**Atlantis, ten days later.**

Willow had no idea how much time went by as she stood at the primary balcony behind the control room. She leaned on the railing and looked out at the brightly lit ocean before closing her eyes and listening to the waves gently crashing against the piers, she felt the wind coming in and bringing with it the scent of the ocean into her nostrils as well as a slight chill. She looked at the towers and imagined what the city used to look like when it was full of life… millions of Lanteans living and working in the city.

'A beacon of hope against the Wraith' thought Willow to herself as she turned around and walked into the control room. She then looked at the active consoles and sat down behind one of them and pressed a button as she started to go through the Ancient library of knowledge in her mind, which was represented as data on the Lantean screen behind her. She then turned and looked at the screen behind her as data started to stream; weapon designs, planetary knowledge, catalogues of fauna and flora of various planets, sociological studies of various planets in Pegasus and the Milky Way, data on the Ori, and data on trillions of different things all within her mind and shown onto the screen. She knew that even in her current stasis state… there was no way that she'll be able to go through everything in her mind.

'I'll need several lifetimes' thought Willow to herself as her mind started to wonder, and the data stream to the screen she was looking at stopped. Willow smiled as a video of her and Tara dancing appeared. She leaned forward on her seat as she remembered the first day she met Buffy; she smiled at her nervousness upon meeting the Slayer for the first time. She then remembered the first time she met Xander at Kindergarten, followed by the first time she met Jesse, and then Faith, and then Oz. She remembered meeting Tara for the first time, their first date… she then remembered her counterpart from the alternate reality.

Willow then looked back at the console and pressed a button that turned off the screen. She then leaned back on her seat and closed her eyes while she imagined the feel of Tara's lips on hers, she imagined what it felt to hold the blonde witch's hand again as they walked in the park with sunlight coming down on them. Her thoughts then turned to Hera, Willow opened her eyes and recalled the day she ran up the central stairs and asked Janus if he had seen her sister anywhere. The Screen behind Willow then automatically activated, making the redhead turn around to see her memory of the time Hera died after being fed on by a Wraith. Willow remembered the rage she felt that day, she remembered how cold she was when she killed the Wraith that stood by after the Keeper that murdered her sister had left.

Then the screen changed to show her videos of her memories of Sineya. She remembered the little girl while she closed her eyes and imagined being there in the cave again. Willow remembered looking at the bodies of the clones she had give the Furlings, she remembered the horror she felt when the Shadow demon.. supercharged with the life essences it had stolen from the clones that the Furlings had sacrificed, entered Sineya's body.

Willow still remembered that awful scream.

"The First Slayer.. Sineya" said Willow as she stood up and watched Sineya on the screen running away from her after she rescued the redhead from the collapsing cave after she was created. Willow remembered reaching out to her, asking her to come back… but she was already out of earshot. Willow then saw a video of the dying Sineya.. the redhead remembered holding her hand before she died which led to her body rising into the air and the establishment of the Slayer lines. Lines of mystical energy that were powered by the life essences taken from the clones that Willow had given the Furlings… the very same clones that the mystical sect of the Furlings sacrificed to create the First Slayer; Willow remembered the lines going out as far as the eyes could see. She remembered the Ascended Hera standing next to her saying that the lines were going through the Earth itself… that the lines were being powered by the Earth.

"The power of the Slayer will never die" said Willow as she looked at the screen which showed her burying Sineya, "it's forever… as long as the Earth exists, there will be Slayers… there will be potentials."

"Yes" said a familiar voice as Willow turned around surprised before she ran to the central staircase and saw a tall, toned woman standing in the Gateroom. The redhead smiled in recognition of the dark skinned woman, who was wearing what looked like rags over her body; she had dried hair that fell on the sides of her face, and on her wrists were the remains the manacles that had chained her to the floor of the cavern long ago.

Willow was now looking at the young woman she had seen as a daughter.

"Sineya?" said Willow as she slowly walked down the stairs and when she reached the bottom, she rushed forward and hugged the woman who still had the white paste that was painted on her by one of the Furlings.

"Mother" said Sineya as she returned the redhead's hug, "it has been far too long."

"I missed you, Sineya" said Willow as she pulled back and placed her hands on both of the Slayer's cheeks.

"And I you, mother" said Sineya nodding her head before she looked around, and then looked at the redhead again, "I have been watching you always. I was so proud the day you ascended, and my heart was happy when you chose to return to this plain. But… I cannot be here for long."

"I have all the time in the world" said Willow as she looked around and then at Sineya again before grabbing onto her hand, "I promised I'll show you the city, remember?"

"I have come to say my goodbye, mother" said Sineya as Willow looked on confused before she could turn and pull her up the stairs, "they have come."

"Sineya" said Willow, "you can't just come by and then say you have to leave. It's been what? More than ten thousand years… you can stay for a little bit."

"I have been watching you, mother" said Sineya as she placed her forehead on Willow's own; it was something that the two used to do before Sineya would have to go back to her village, "I could not make myself known until now, there were things that you had to do… things you had to study. I… have been watching you like I used to. Do you remember?"

"Yes" said Willow as her voice broke when she remembered that Sineya would watch her do everything with the eyes of a curious child. Willow remembered teaching the young girl the Lantean language, and Sineya taught Willow her own language. Willow remembered Sineya watching intently while she was running experiments for a month before the redhead showed the young girl what she was doing, "do you remember how excited you were when I took you up in the Gateship?"

"Yes" said Sineya, "it was magic."

"Yes" said Willow as she closed her eyes and remembered the look of amazement on Sineya's face as she clapped while the ship flew through the clouds and then entered Earth orbit, "even when you were a teen.. you'd still get excited. You became my assistant.. I was so proud of you."

The both of them held their forehead together for a few more seconds before Willow whispered.

"I'm sorry" said the redhead as she looked at the First Slayer while their foreheads were still touching, "I don't think I ever apologized.. I should have taken you away after I first met the Furlings the day after you were attacked by vampires. I should have taken you off world when I saw how far you had gotten in a year. You already learned my language, you taught me your own.. you taught me how to survive in the plains. And you learned faster than anyone I know. You could have been a great scientist, or a scholar, or…. Instead I consigned you to a life of suffering. It shouldn't have happened."

"If it did not" said Sineya softly as she held Willow's hands, "then there would be no Slayer. And the Earth would be in danger from the darkness. The fate of the Slayer was forced onto me, Mother… but it occurring saved the world from destruction; even at the loss of my life, and the loss of so many women."

"Look after their souls" said Willow.

"They are all with me" said Sineya, "I have been guiding the Slayers, just as I have told you and Hera."

"Keep guiding them" said Willow as she looked into Sineya's eyes, "guide Faith, guide Buffy… guide the ones who come after them. Just as you've been doing for millennia."

"I will, mother" said Sineya as she kissed Willow's cheek.

"Goodbye, my daughter" said Willow as she stepped back and Sineya vanished, and the redhead found herself alone again for a few more seconds. It was then that Willow looked around and found that Atlantis had melted away and she was in a gun-metal grey coloured room with multiple streams of light that were running along the walls and the floor. She looked around and looked at a screen that was located on the left wall and smiled.

"The Asgard" said Willow when she recognized the symbols on the screen when she heard voices around her saying that it was dangerous to keep her out of stasis, that she won't be able to handle it.

'Buffy' thought Willow with a smile.

"Hello?" asked Willow from inside the room; in reality, the Asgard computer core.

**Asgard Vessel,** _**Daniel Jackson,** _ **orbit of Earth, 1500 hours; two minutes earlier.**

Buffy, Daniel and Tara were in the briefing room with what remained of the Goa'uld system lords who had come to Earth to propose an Alliance, in reality they wanted to make sure that the Tau'ri really had the weapon that was able to defeat Anubis. Camulus, one of the Goa'uld who came to Earth, claimed that Ba'al had taken control of Anubis' Kull warriors and were already taking over many territories; and he was on the way to becoming supreme leader of the Goa'uld. To force Earth to show them the weapon, the Goa'uld on Earth even ordered their ships to attack the planet, but it was just recently revealed that the ship that were on the way to Earth were already destroyed by Ba'al. But before he could continue speaking, Daniel and Buffy were beamed out of the briefing room with the Goa'uld, as well as Dr. Weir and Tara looking on in surprise.

Buffy was the first to realize that she was transported on a ship before looking at Daniel and nodding towards Thor, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c.

"Hey" said Daniel as he waved his hands before walking with Buffy to where the small group was located, "what's up?"

"Ummm… where's Major Carter?" asked Buffy as she looked around before noticing the looks on the Colonel and Teal'c's faces, "sir? Teal'c?"

"Carter was taken by replicators" said the Colonel.

"Wait… then…." Said Daniel shaking his head, "I mean…"

"Thor believes that the Ancient Knowledge in Willow Rosenberg's mind holds the key to defeating the replicators" said Teal'c as the grey alien nodded his head before he walked out from behind his console to a medical pod which had a glass cover. Once he reached the pod, he pressed a few buttons just as Daniel said that Willow was still in Stasis in Antarctica.

Buffy looked on and then rushed towards the pod when a beam of light deposited Willow inside the pod with Thor telling them that he was connecting her mind to the ship's computer core.

"She'll die" said Buffy as she looked at Thor, "she was already dying when…."

It was then that everyone looked around the ship when Willow's voice appeared out of nowhere saying 'hello'.

"Will?" asked Buffy as she looked up at the ceiling, "umm… hi?"

"Red?"

"Willow Rosenberg."

"Hey, Willow"

"Willow" said Thor after the others had said their greetings, "you have complete access to my ships logs, I believe you have seen for yourself what is happening."

"Yea" said Willow as the ship reverberated with her voice, "just went through the log and… I'll help."

"Willow" said Buffy, "are you… I mean, ok?"

"So far" said Willow, "umm… Thor, I know you wanna get to Ida… but I need to run a quick scan of the planet and… explanations will take long. Give me a few seconds? It won't go too long since I have direct control of your ship's sensors."

"We will have to move quickly, Willow" said Thor as one of the screens activated to show an image of Earth. Then, what remained of SG-1 watched as the image of Earth zoomed in to show Nairobi, with another small window superimposed on the image of the city and its surrounding areas; the small window showing an outline of a bladed weapon. They watched as Willow used the Asgard vessel's advanced scanners to scan Nairobi and then the entirety of Kenya; and then the whole of Egypt, and then finally… Sunnydale, and the surrounding areas before scanning the whole of California. They watched as the ship started to scan the state when the outline of the weapon flashed and the scanners zoomed in again to a Mission in Gilroy. The scanners looked through the walls of the Mission and to a hidden room past all the priests who were walking about. The group saw a large stone with the outline of the bladed weapon blinking in the middle of the stone.

It was then that there was a flash of light in front of Buffy, who looked down to see a long handled bladed weapon that looked like a strange Scythe appear after the light of the transportation beam vanished.

"Thor" said Willow, "ready for hyperspace. I have something that'll help with the replicators, should be somewhere in here and…"

"Willow?" asked Buffy as she picked up the weapon while Thor set a course for the Asgard homeworld in the Ida galaxy. In the meantime, as soon as Buffy picked up the Scythe, she felt a strange sensation go through her body before she looked up at the ceiling of the ship, "this… this thing. When I hold it, it.. it feels like it's mine."

"What do you mean?" asked Daniel as Buffy handed the weapon to him while he just looked at the weapon and shrugged his shoulders before handing it to the Colonel and Teal'c, who also said that they didn't feel anything. They then handed it back to Buffy who smiled upon having the weapon in her hand again.

"I feel it" said Buffy as she looked at the blade, and then at the handle and the wooden stake at the end, "it's calling to me… it's like it belongs to me."

"It should" said Willow's voice as everyone looked up while Thor continued to work behind a console, still listening to what was being said, "that weapon… I made that weapon for the First Slayer."

"Sineya" said Buffy as she looked at the weapon, "this is the thing you said you made for her.. It's so… wow."

"It's for the Slayers, Buffy" said Willow, "It's her legacy. She was the most powerful Slayer, and her power was absorbed by the naquada in the Scythe. It contains everything she is; her essence. I wanted it hidden away from the Shadow Men… from those who wanted to control the Slayer; but with the Council basically dead in the water and only providing mystical support… I thought it was time to hand the Scythe to you and Faith."

"This is Faith's" whispered Buffy as she caressed the blade of the weapon while the Colonel put a hand gently on her shoulder.

"That weapon belongs to both yourself, and Faith Lehane" said Teal'c as Buffy shook her head.

"Not much use against guys with plasma weapons" said Buffy as she swung the weapon around, "but I wish I get to use it just once. It's beautiful."

"Guys" said Willow, "I gotta start on that whole anti-replicator weapon thing. See you soon."

"And I'll go inform Weir about what's going on" said the Colonel as he approached Thor before looking around, and then at Daniel and Teal'c, "should tell Tara not to worry either."

TBC.

 


	81. Chapter 81

**Briefing Room, SGC, 1300 hours.**

Tara, Dr. Weir Buffy and Daniel were in the briefing room talking to the Goa'uld representatives who were demanding that the Earth reveal the weapon that was used to destroy Anubis' fleet; they said that Ba'al was a danger to them all since he has taken over control of Anubis' Kull warriors after his defeat.

And also that they had sent over ships to Earth; to force a defence of the Tau'ri homeworld in order to test the defences. However, their ships were all destroyed in transit, by Ba'al. While the Goa'uld to surprised to hear about that fact… Dr. Weir walked back into the briefing room after being called back to her office only a minute ago saying that the Asgard were also in orbit to watch the weapon being fired. It was just as the diplomat finished speaking that Daniel and Buffy were beamed away via tell tale signs they knew belonged to Asgard beaming technology.

Dr. Weir and Tara looked worriedly at Tara before telling the S.F's to take their guests to their rooms until they find out exactly what was going on.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked the Goa'uld known as Amaterasu.

"You came here threatening our plane,t" said Dr. Weir as she looked at the Asian female, and then at Lord Yu, and the others, "we intend to make sure that you don't have any other surprises on the way here… because if more ships from your respective fleets come into orbit of Earth, then you'll be the deterrent. Basically, if they attack… then you can expect some really interesting times in Area 51."

"We do not have more ships," said Camulus, "as Dr. Jackson has mentioned, Ba'al has already taken destroyed whatever ships we ordered to be sent here."

"Maybe," said Dr. Weir before she nodded at the S.F's who took the Goa'uld away. Once they were gone, Dr. Weir turned to the worried Tara and told her that there was probably a good reason why Daniel and Buffy were beamed away. It was then that she received another call on her phone, to which she ran into her office with Tara in tow and picked it up. Tara noticed the look of shock on the diplomat's face before she looked up at Tara and asked the person on the other line to repeat what he just said.

"Has to be the Asgard," said Dr. Weir into the phone, "thank you, Dr. Beckett."

Tara watched the dark haired woman put the phone down while looking at her; the witch could tell that she was worried about something. Her suspicions were confirmed when Dr. Weir told her that Willow just vanished from the Stasis pod in Antarctica, and that she should be in the Asgard ship.

"But… but is she..?" asked Tara who wanted to ask if Willow was going to be alright when they heard someone running up the stairs. Tara turned around while Dr. Weir looked out the window at Walter running up the last few steps and then towards Dr. Weir's office. Opening the door, the man told the both of them that the Asgard ship just left orbit, and that they were needed at the Control Room. Looking at each other as Walter ran back towards the stairs, Tara and Dr. Weir then rushed out as fast as they could and ran down to the Control Room where they say a shimmering hologram of Colonel O'Neill standing in the middle of the room while some personnel were walking around him.

"Colonel?" asked Dr. Weir.

"Jack," said Tara, "we just heard about Willow, is she…."

"Red's alright," said the Colonel as Tara put her hand on her chest and sighed.

"She still has the Ancient Knowledge in her head," said the Colonel as Tara looked back up in surprise at the man and was about to say something while Dr. Weir took a step forward, however it was the Colonel who spoke up first, "there's a problem. It's not with Red, Thor's ready to take the knowledge out of her head."

"Then the problem?" asked Dr. Weir.

"It's the replicators," said Colonel O'Neill while everyone in the Control Room stopped and listened when the word 'replicators' was mentioned, "remember the Asgard trap on Hala?"

"Yes," said Dr. Weir, "I've read that report."

"Well, it didn't work," said the Colonel, "even though the Asgard turned Hala's sun into a black hole, we saw replicator blocks coming together and forming a ship and escaping the thing. They attacked Thor's ship and… well, they took Carter and we think they're heading for the Asgard homeworld."

"Why would they take the Major?" asked Dr. Weir.

"No idea," said the Colonel, "but whatever the reason, Thor's asking for help. They're losing the war and.. well, he thinks that there could be some Ancient weapon in Red's head that could help them. Listen, we'll be out of range soon…. Thor's going at a slower speed through hyperspace to give Red enough time to sift through the data and then build what we need. We're gonna be alright… Carter and Red are coming home safe and sound."

"You're with them, Jack," said Tara nodding her head, "I know they'll come back safe."

"Good hunting, Colonel," said Dr. Weir nodding her head, "get them home."

"See ya," said the Colonel as his hologram shimmered and then vanished. Dr. Weir looked at Tara and smiled before looking at everyone else in the room who were listening to the conversation.

"Get to work, all of you," said Dr. Weir, "we hope and pray that they come home safe, and then we celebrate. Right now, we have a job to do."

The woman then looked at Walter and told him that if there are no additional Goa'uld ships coming through in the next six hours, then they were to get Cumulus and the other System Lords ready to be on their way back to their own home worlds.

"I'll be here when that time comes," said Dr. Weir as she and Tara rushed up the stairs and into her office.

**Asgard Vessel** _**Daniel Jackson,** _ **travelling through Hyperspace; 1930 hours.**

While Buffy was in a corner of the ship practicing with her newest weapon, Teal'c, Daniel and Colonel O'Neill were just waiting around while Thor was working on his console. They had just talked to Penegal of the Asgard High Council and were given the sobering news that the replicator ship appeared over their homeworld only thirty minutes ago, and was immediately fired upon by five Asgard O'Neill class ships. However, some of the replicator blocks had made it onto the planet below where they started to replicate, and the start eating the surrounding areas while other began gathering neutronium.

"We believe that these replicators could be under the control of a human form replicator," Penegal had said two hours ago while the _Daniel Jackson_ was still in hyperspace, "since neutromium is the primary material needed in creating these particular versions of replicators."

"How goes the evacuation?" asked Thor.

"We have moved as many of the Asgard consciousness we could," said Penegal, "more are being moved, but the replicators are reproducing at a greater rate. We do not have long before we must leave the others consciousness to their fate. Do you have a weapon?"

"Yes," said Willow as an alarm started to go off that made Buffy stop what she was doing before she ran to the pod that was holding the redhead as Daniel and the others stood next to her.

Thor looked at his console and then back up at the medical pod. He then walked around the console and to the pod where he told the assembled group that he had held back the damage to her mind for a long as he could, any longer.. then Willow could have permanent damage to her brain.

"Hold on," said Willow's voice through the speakers, "I'm close."

"Thor," said Colonel O'Neill, "get her out."

"Wait.. wait," said Willow as Thor's finger hovered over a button, "Thor! Wait… one second.. one second… one…. There. Sending the details to your computer and.. oh… interesting. Ok… done."

Thor then pressed a button and a red-light from within the medical pod flashed, and a few seconds later the glass cover opened with Willow opening her eyes slowly. She then turned her head and looked at Buffy and smiled before the Slayer helped the redhead sit up.

"Hey Buff," said Willow as she put her head on her best friends shoulder, "what happened?"

"You had the Ancient repository of Knowledge downloaded into your mind," said Teal'c as Willow looked at him, took her head off the Slayer's shoulder and looked at the Jaffa with her eyes wide open.

"Teal'c," said Willow as she pointed at the man's head, "you've got hair."

"Indeed," said Teal'c as he gave Willow as small bow before she looked at the Colonel.

"Hi, Sir," said the redhead, "I… I don't remember anything; where am I?"

"The _Daniel Jackson,"_ said Thor as Willow turned to face the grey alien while Buffy helped Willow turn until her feet were hanging off the side of the pod. The alien then looked at his right side at a console with a screen before blinking his eyes and then looking back at Willow, "your brain nearly failed, I was only just able to hold back the flood of information… but you have placed two designs into this ship's database; both to battle the replicators, I hope."

"Huh," said Willow in surprise, "Cool?"

"Yes," said Thor nodding his head as he walked towards the console while telling the other's that he'll use the Asgard beams to create a working model of the two designs that Willow placed into the ship's computers. While he moved some crystals around, Willow looked at Buffy again.. which was when she noticed the scythe she was holding in her hand.

"Hey," said Willow as she pointed at the weapon, "you found it… wait, how did you find it and… and you know what it is? Right? That's Sineya's weapon and…"

"You found it, Willow," said Daniel, "you used the ship's scanners to find it."

"I did?" asked Willow as she looked at the weapon, and then at Buffy before getting off the pod, "ok… that's cool? But anyway, Buffy.. that weapons for the Slayers. You and Faith… it's your choice what you wanna do."

"I'll give it to Faith," said the blonde Slayer as she looked at the weapon, and then up at Willow and at the Colonel, "sir, after we get the Major back… can I take a few day's leave? I wanna dust some vamps with this before I turn it to Faith."

"Wait," said Willow as she looked around the room before the Colonel could respond, "where's Major Carter?"

Colonel O'Neill was about to tell Willow what happened with the replicators, the Asgard asking for help, and the situation with Major Carter when Thor called for them. He was walking over to a pedestal near the medical pod just as there was a flash of light and a strange weapon, and a brown coloured ball, appeared side by side.

"What is that?" said Daniel as he, along with the others.. with Buffy helping Willow get her balance back, walked over to where Thor was and looked at the two devices. They then looked at Willow who just shrugged before telling them she had no idea what she created. She walked towards the larger object that seemed to have a recess for an arm to go through at the back, with the front of the device looking like a curved shield of some sort. Thor was scanning the two objects, and while he couldn't find the use for the larger object… he told the group that the smaller sphere like device had various sensors within.

"Visual sensors that could look through all sorts of visual spectrums; audio sensors, speakers, a remote transceiver, receivers, an anti-gravity unit, a memory unit, a guidance system for what I can assume would be for independent flight given the anti-gravity technology" said Thor as he looked up from his console, "this is not a weapon against the replicators."

"Sounds more like stuff you'd have on a MALP," said the Colonel as he picked up the ball and looked at it while Buffy and the others tried to make sense of the larger device. They knew that Willow sent data to the Asgard computer on designs for an Ancient anti-replicator weapon… and the larger device was the only thing that could be the weapon; but no one had any idea of how it worked, or what it did.

It was soon that Thor reached the orbit of his homeworld where Penegal contacted him again. He told him about the replicators having stopped their advance to the others consciousness, and now they were going after the neutromium on the planet's surface. When asked if they had anything to beat the mechanical creatures, Thor told Penegal that they had something.. but they were unaware of what it did, or how it worked.

Penegal told him that the majority of the Asgard ships were already waiting in the void between galaxies for any news, and they were continuing to retrieve the Asgard consciousness'.

"Can you detect Major Carter?" asked Teal'c as he looked at Penegal.

"We have run scans," said the alien on the large screen, "there are no life signs."

"She has to be on that planet," said Colonel O'Neill as he looked at Thor, and then at the redhead who nodded her head before she rushed to the medical pod and sat down. The Colonel then headed to the larger device, hoping that it really was the weapon they needed… and that they could make it work.

'This has to be the weapon,' the Colonel thought to himself reassuringly, 'this has to be.. if the other thing is for recon.. then this has to be the weapon.'

"Thor," said the Colonel as he put his hand into the recess in the back of the weapon and picked it up, "I need you to put up a shield, and create two replicators for me inside that shield."

"O'Neill," said Thor as he saw Willow close her eyes before he turned to face the Colonel, "that is a great risk. We do not know what the capabilities of that weapon are."

"No better time for a test than under combat, huh?" asked the Colonel, "Thor. This is the weapon… so basically you need to see what it does, right?"

"Yes," said the alien as he walked over to another console while Buffy walked over to Willow. The redhead told her that since they were close to the planet, she wanted to see if she could reach out and mentally feel the Major.

"You can do that?" whispered the Slayer.

"Have to try, I feel like…. It's weird. I feel like I can just reach out and… and just feel" said Willow as she closed her eyes while Thor recreated some replicators bugs that were surrounded by a forcefield. Buffy looked back at the Colonel aimed the weapon while Teal'c and Daniel lifted up their P90's and aimed at the replicators.

While Willow was trying to concentrate, the Colonel pointed the weapon while feeling around the inside of the recess that his arm went into for a trigger, or a button to push. When he found what he thought to be the trigger, there was a wave that dissipated from the curved portion of the front of the weapon. The wave washed over the replicators before they fell apart into their individual blocks.

"Interesting," said Thor while Buffy looked at what just happened with eyes wide open in surprise before turning to face Willow. She looked at her best friend who was holding her hands and concentrating while Thor was saying that now that he's seen what the device can do, he'll need five minutes for the Asgard beams to create a larger version of it that can hit the entire planet at one go.

"Will," said Buffy looking at Willow, "what about Major Carter? Have you found her?"

"Hold…. Hold on, I… I… adding a bit of magic.. and…," said Willow as she gritted her teeth, "hold on…. Thor… can.. can you get the ship lower.. I.. I… I…. there… found you."

Willow then opened her eyes as Buffy helped her walk over to Thor who was standing at a console turning some stones. After he had finished activating the beams to create a larger version of the weapon, Willow then asked the alien to put up an image of the surface. She then asked Thor if she could use the controls.. to which Thor nodded his head. Willow turned the stones using the image on the screen changed to show what she needed the others to see; a forested area above a vein of neutronium, with an insect like replicator ship right above it. Willow then stepped to one side while Thor zoomed in and ran a scan, saying that he wasn't able to find any life signs.

"Her mind's active," said Willow as she looked at Thor, and then at the others, "I.. I think the shock of the Ancient download activated my telepathy and…."

Willow reached out her hand and mentally pulled the strange ball that had been, until now that is, lying on the pedestal.

"My telekinesis" said Willow as she walked back to the pedestal and put the ball where it used to be.

"I would like to examine you once again before you return to the SGC, Willow," said Thor while the Colonel was handing out vests and weapons to Daniel, Buffy, and then to Willow who nodded her head at Thor's request to examine her body for any adverse affects with the sudden activation of her powers.

"Thor," said the Colonel while the team checked their weapons, and while Buffy reluctantly left the Scythe on one of the case of weapons that Thor had beamed up when they had entered Earth's orbit, "how long will the machine take… I mean.. you know… to build the larger weapon."

"Three more minutes," said Thor, "and then two minutes to charge it. The ship itself is incredibly dense, I am afraid that if you fire the weapon at that size in your hand… it will show the Human Form replicator that there is a weapon to defeat them. And if Major Carter really is on that ship… it would just take off without us being able to rescue her. And now there is two minutes."

"We keep them distracted," said the Colonel, "Thor beam us down. As close to that thing as possible. Red and Summers, get into the ship and get Carter out. Don't hold back for anything; Danny, T, and I'll cover you."

"Yes, sir," said Buffy and Willow together as a bright flash of light washed over them.

**Briefing Room, SGC, 2130 hours.**

Tara wasn't going home, not tonight.

With Willow gone from the Antarctic site, Tara had faith that her girlfriend would be fine… all she wanted to do was wait for them to return. Dr. Weir was in her office talking on the phone to the President and General Hammond, while the blonde witch was on her seventh cup of coffee. She put the cup back down onto the table after taking a sip from it before she leaned back on her seat. She then looked down on the table before looking up at some of the archaeological reports that Daniel still had to go through.

So, leaning forward, the young woman started reading.. all the while in the back of her mind, she was willing Willow back home.

It was just as Tara reached the second page of the report on some Ancient ruins that Walter hurriedly walked up the stairs. Tara quickly stood up and turned around with a smile when she sensed the man's excitement threatening to boil over. Tara turned around again when, just as Walter was about to open his mouth, there was a buzzing sound behind her. Turning around, along with Dr. Weir quickly dropping the phone and rushing out of her office, Tara saw a bright light flash… and the when it faded, it left behind six people.. the redhead and blonde with the weapons in shirts and vests that were slightly torn in places but no injuries.

"Buffy," said Tara as she headed towards her and gave her a hug while looking at Willow, who Tara noticed seemed genuinely surprised about something. Pushing it to the back of her mind, she then gave Willow a tight hug before whispering into her ear.

"I missed you so much, Will," said Tara as she held her tight.

However, it was the next few words that made Tara's heart drop; as well as caused the others to look at each other in surprise.

"Ummm..," said Willow as she pulled back from Tara, and took a step back, "who are you?"

TBC.

 


	82. Chapter 82

**Briefing Room, SGC, 2135 hours.**

As Tara looked into Willow's eyes, she couldn't believe what she just heard; her girlfriend, the woman she loved told her that she didn't know who she was. Her heart fell as she looked at the surprised looks on Buffy, Colonel O'Neill, and the others. Tara's mind was now ablaze with questions, and there was a part of her telling her that there was a reasonable explanation for what the redhead just told her. But she started feeling as if she was being swollen up by the ground, she had lost her lover again.. and she didn't know how much more she could take.

Tears welled up in Tara's eyes as she stood back and nodded her head, telling Willow that everything was going to be alright. Tara continued to look at Willow whose lips turned to a slow smile, as did Buffy, Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, and Daniel while Teal'c just bowed his head. Tara looked all of them, and then at a grinning Willow, who walked closer to her and hugged the surprised blonde witch... and then whispered into her ear.

"I could never forget you, Tara," whispered Willow as Tara closed her eyes and held the redhead close, the blonde trying to not cry in front of the others, "not again; I just wanted to have a little bit of fun."

"I... I'll get you for this," whispered Tara as she held on to Willow tightly, before looking at the Colonel who was grinning at her, as was Buffy, and the others, "I'll be getting all of you for this."

"Oh, come on," said the Colonel as Willow pulled back and as she and Tara looked at each other before she stood next to the blonde witch, "it was kinda funny and... it was Red's idea."

"Oh, she's gonna be punished," said Tara as Dr. Weir approached them after telling Walter to call General Hammond and tell him that SG-1's retuned from their mission, with a fully healed Willow, as well as two gifts. As the technician welcomed SG-1, and Willow back to the SGC... Dr. Weir then turned to the redhead and asked if all the Ancient knowledge was out of her mind. Willow nodded her head before Dr. Weir looked at the Scythe that was in Buffy's hand, and then at ball in Major Carter's hand.

"I'm fine, ma'am," said Willow nodding her head when the Base Commander looked at her, "the Asgard took everything out."

"You still remember your memories as Athena?" asked the diplomat.

"Those are my memories, ma'am," said Willow, "it wasn't from the knowledge that was downloaded into my head."

"I want to ask you all about the two things in Lt. Summers', and Major Carter's, hands," said Dr. Weir after she nodded at what Willow said, and then she looked at the rest of the team, "but I'd like for all of you to report to the infirmary for your post mission checks. And then we'll have a briefing, I'm sure it's going to be one heck of an interesting report,"

"Oh, yea," said Buffy as she looked down at the Scythe, and then back up at the base commander, "it's really interesting."

As the others were walking away, Dr. Weir asked Willow to stay back for a few moments while the others went ahead. Willow looked at Tara as she brushed her fingers along the blonde witch's own fingers; telling her to go ahead with the team while she stayed and talked to Dr. Weir. Tara nodded her head as Buffy put her arm around Tara's shoulder and they walked on; the blonde Slayer asking if they were ok after that trick they played.

"Oh, yeah," said Tara nonchalantly, "we're good."

"Oh, I'm paying for my role in this, aren't I," asked Buffy sighing.

"Oh, yeah," replied the witch while back in the briefing room, Dr. Weir and Willow walked into the former's office and then closed the door behind them. Dr. Weir took a seat behind her table; while Willow sat across from her as Dr. Weir leaned forward on her arms.

"Before you left for Chulak to get the cargo ship," said Dr. Weir, "when you were still had the knowledge in your head... you touched my arm. And I saw something, I saw me approaching you.. or rather, me approaching Athena. Lieutenant, I've never met Athena.. so how is it possible that I knew who you were? I called you Captain Rosenberg, and..."

"Ma'am," said Willow leaning forward, "I remember that day like it was yesterday. It did happen, but it's something that you'll need to hear from someone more important than me."

"I don't understand," asked Dr. Weir shaking, "I didn't recognize that hallway, where was I? Where I met you... or Athena, I mean."

"Ma'am," said Willow, "my father would say not to mess around with time; that the time line should be preserved. All I can tell you is that Atlantis is out there, waiting for my people... waiting for you.. waiting for a team to occupy her. All I can tell you is that she's alone under Lantea's ocean; now I could give you the address to dial the Atlantis Stargate... or half the journey of getting to the location of the Lost City is finding that out on your own, and the rest of the journey is getting you're a team together and then heading there through the Stargate."

"What you're saying is, do we tell you to give us the gate address, or we discover it ourselves?" asked Dr. Weir while Willow nodded her head, "do we get spoon-fed the location, or do we complete the journey on our own."

"If you order me to give you the address," said Willow, "I won't hesitate, if Colonel O'Neill orders me, if General Hammond orders me, or if the President orders me.. then I won't hesitate to give you the address."

"Did she find the address on her own" asked Dr. Weir.

Willow had heard the rumours after the alternate Dr. Weir arrived on Atlantis; that her team had discovered the location of the lost city on her own, that it had taken them approximately ten months, but they found the location of city. She had heard the rumours that the alternate Dr. Weir's whole team had died because power had run out, and that the alternate Dr. Weir was the only survivor. Willow, as Athena heard it while waiting for the Council's decision on her living weapons, and she felt sorry for the woman since she had lost everyone she cared about; being that the ones she cared for hadn't been born yet, and wouldn't be born for ten thousand years.

"I don't know," said Willow lying, "all I can tell you is that I'll be here if you want that information. I'll give it to you freely."

"I'll talk to the President, and General Hammond" said Dr. Weir, "but... but my opinion is that I'd rather go for the journey."

Willow nodded her head, and stood up after Dr. Weir stood up. The diplomat then told Willow to go ahead and get checked out while she calls the President, and General Hammond. The redhead then walked out of the office, while Dr. Weir sat back down; then leaned back on her chair and smiled at what the future may have in store for her.

**Briefing Room, SGC, 2235 hours.**

It had been about an hour later that Buffy, Willow, and the others walked back into the briefing room after having showered and changed following their medical check-up with Dr. Fraiser.. earning themselves an invitation for a barbeque at the doctor's home tomorrow. It was Buffy who placed the Scythe on the table and then sat on the seat next to Willow, who herself sat next to Tara who wanted to know what happened to the replicators. Then once everyone else had sat down, and Major Carter placed the strange ball, which further Asgard scans determined that it was a form of mobile MALP, which the Colonel took to calling the Hover MALP. It was the Major who managed to activate the device.. something that excited Willow and her once they found out what it could do back on Thor's ship while he was taking his time first checking the Major, and then Buffy, followed by Willow.

"So" said Dr. Weir as she walked out of the office after having put down her phone onto the cradle, "I've just spoken to the President and General Hammond.. Lieutenant Rosenberg, and Major Carter… they've welcomed the both of you back."

"Good to be back," replied the Major whole the Major nodded her head.

"Yup," said Willow while she nodded her head as well, and held Tara's hand under the table; something that made Buffy look at the both of them , and then look away before smiling. Tara noticed the smile from Buffy before leaning in and then told the blonde that she was thankful she managed to get the redhead back.

"It wasn't me, Tara," whispered Buffy back.

"It was you, she listened to both of our voices," smiled Tara as Dr. Weir started talking again while the blonde Slayer gently squeezed Tara's arm.

"And they asked me if Lt. Rosenberg knew anything about Atlantis' location," said Dr. Weir as she looked at everyone before she looked at Willow, "I told him that it was the first question I asked."

"Willow?" asked Major Carter, "you know where Atlantis is, right?"

"She said that she's not sure," said Dr. Weir as she smiled at a surprised Willow before she looked at the others, "her memories are still coming back. So, the President told me that the Antarctic Treaty nations have made some allowance for an international scientific exploration of the outpost… but that's only in two months, and in the meantime, I'll be picking out a team with Major Carter, and Lieutenant Rosenberg's help. This team will be stationed there to study the chair, the weapons, and the Ancient database that Dr. Jackson and Lt. Summers found."

"With enough time," said Daniel, "we can find Atlantis' location."

"It's the journey, Daniel," said Dr. Weir before she looked at a smiling Willow and winked before she looked at the team again, "besides, as far as we can tell, the power source still has energy in it after firing those weapons. And we still have those weapons left based on examinations before we were asked to leave, so as far as the Goa'uld go… we're defended. I want Daniel to head up the team at the Antarctic site, and I want a team to examine the outposts that we were given coordinate's to by Lt. Rosenberg in Death Valley, and the one in Sunnydale. But… should the lieutenant ever find the address in her memories, I'd like for her to let me know."

"Understood, ma'am," said Willow as she looked at Dr. Weir, and then at Tara who looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. Willow then squeezed the blonde's hand again before Tara nodded her head.

"So," said Colonel O'Neill, "let's begin."

**Asgard Homeworld, Ida Galaxy, hours earlier.**

"Red! Summers!" shouted the Colonel immediately after beaming in as he fired the anti-replicator weapon at the replicator bugs of various sizes that were coming towards them. He then turned around towards the large ship and fired the device at the base while Willow, Buffy, Daniel, and Teal'c fired their weapons all around them to shoot the replicators from all sides. Once a small opening had opened up, the Colonel saw more replicators from the inside closing the breach when he looked at Buffy and told her to go inside with Willow, "bring her back! Move it!"

The Colonel then saw Willow and Buffy jump through the closing breach, before he turned around and started to fire at the coming replicators while Thor said that he needed two minutes to charge the weapon.

"Understood!" shouted the Colonel into the grey stone in his left hand while he then started shooting the energy weapon with his right hand.

In the meantime, Buffy and Willow had immediately started shooting the replicators bugs as they were walking towards the two of them. The redhead and the blonde were advancing while turning the bugs into blocks after firing their projectile weapons at them. The two of them didn't say a word, instead they were speaking telepathically… Buffy surprised a how fast the redhead appeared to be getting used to her abilities. She even told Buffy that she could feel the magic that surrounded them on the Asgard planet; that it felt strange, but it was something that she could use if she wanted to.

"You gonna use magic too?" asked Buffy as she put another magazine into her M16, while Willow did the same for her P90 before they started firing again. Willow said that she wouldn't unless she had to, and that she'd really rather not; and just as she finished saying that out loud… there were two bugs that launched themselves at Buffy who shot them in mid-air before another two threw themselves at her from the ceiling. Willow saw Buffy grab them with her bare hands while the redhead had four bugs launch themselves at her… a few of them scratching her arm, drawing blood, before she telekinetically picked them up and slammed them against the wall… breaking them apart. Willow them watched Buffy smash the replicators that scratched her BDU's, hence drawing blood as well, together with such force that they just broke apart.

"Stop!" shouted a dark haired male in the hallway, the replicator bugs had stopped moving all around him, but Willow and Buffy could see that they were just waiting on a single command to strike again.

"And you are?" asked Buffy as she and Willow raised their weapons at the man.

"Fifth," he replied, "put down those weapons, and leave… or else Samantha dies."

"You won't kill her" said Buffy as she mentally asked Willow to check in on the Major. After a few seconds, Willow mentally told Buffy that it was as if she was in a simulation with her boyfriend, "Pete?"

Buffy and Willow looked at a confused Fifth with their eye-brows raised.

"Any guy in the galaxy, and you picked that genius?" asked Buffy, "really?"

"And we don't mean genius in the good way," said Willow as she stepped forward, "let her go."

"I love her, and…," Fifth had stopped talking just as he looked up, and smiled, and then looked at Willow and Buffy, "you think I don't know what you're doing? My brothers and sisters are telling me that a ship is aiming a weapon at this precise location."

"Yeah, well" said Buffy as she mentally sent Willow a plan, "ta-ta."

Willow and Buffy then started to fire while the redhead waved her arms and mentally slammed the replicators into the wall, while Buffy dropped her weapon onto the floor and tackled Fifth before slamming him against one of the other walls.

All the while, they could feel the ship vibrate as its engines activated.

Willow could hear the Colonel's concern over the radio, and she mentally contacted him and told him that they were making their move; however, the Colonel told Willow that they had to pull back.. that it seemed as if the replicator ship was going to take off; and they had a swarm of the bugs heading towards them.

"Buffy!" shouted Willow into her radio as she ran down the hallways towards the Major's mental location.. just like she was heading towards a beacon, "this thing's ready to take off."

"A….," said Buffy as Fifth flung Buffy against a wall, making her drop the radio before she quickly got up and kicked out at the replicator, flinging him against another wall. She then rushed at him while he was coming at her; she spun around and delivered a kick that knocked him against the wall again before she grabbed his arm and then flipped him over onto the floor face down.

"Impressive," said fifth as a wave washed over him and his back became his front, his face looking back at Buffy. Just then, Buffy kicked his face before he could say another word and then held his hand like a vice and spun around while pulling with all her might. She then turned once more while pulling on the hand and then she continued to kick on his face harder and harder until his jaw became loose. Buffy could see that Fifth was just looking at her curiously when she just simply tore off his hand and then threw it to one side.

"Stay away from us," hissed Buffy as she walked backwards as Fifth got up and looked at her with eyes wide open in surprise while she picked up her radio and told Willow that she was going to meet her, she just needed to know where she was. Once she was done talking to Willow she walked backwards down the hall while Fifth just tilted his head as Buffy took out two grenades, pulled out the pins, and then threw them into the hallway, landing near Fifth, before she took off before taking off running.

Fifth looked at the grenades, and then at the spots of blood on the floor before they simply vanished. He then looked at the grenades and smiled.

"Will!" shouted Buffy as she ran; the explosions behind her indicating that the grenades had went off. Buffy could hear the redhead guiding her through her thought as the blonde Slayer ran through one hallway after another firing her weapon at numerous bugs that.. after her extra magazines were empty, she threw them away and started to destroy the bugs with her bare hands, smashing the bugs into one another.. or slamming them against the wall of the hallway. The ship shook again as she entered a large room with her arms bleeding, and saw that Willow's cheeks were bleeding as well while looking at the Major who was lying unconscious in a recess in the wall.

"Willow," said Buffy as she felt the ship leaving the ground while Daniel was shouting through their radio, "can you get her out, and… crap!"

Buffy, and Willow saw the wall behind the Major dissolve as she fell backwards towards the ground; as did Buffy and Willow when the floor beneath them parted and they fell straight down towards the grass. They saw a sea of grey as they fell, and hit the grass before rolling onto their backs and groaning in pain. They heard the sounds of weapons fire, as well as the sounds made by the anti-replicator weapon just as a great energy wave passed over them.. and then the shooting stopped.

"Carter!"

"Buffy!"

"Willow Rosenberg."

As Willow, Buffy, and Major Carter were helped up by the three men… they looked at the inactive blocks all around them while Thor radioed down to the Colonel telling them that all the replicators on the surface have been destroyed. However, the replicator ship managed to escape after entering hyperspace.

"Another day then," said the Colonel as he looked back at the members of his team, they were one unit once again.

TBC.

 


	83. Chapter 83

**Briefing Room, SGC, 2300 hours.**

Dr. Weir just leaned back on her seat after she heard SG-1 tell her the details of the mission against the replicators, and the rescue of Major Carter from Fifth. However, there were a few questions that were swimming in her mind; the first of which was why did Fifth let them go? And the second question was if they could mount an effective defence in the event that Fifth could possibly head to Earth to recapture Major Carter. It was then that Dr. Weir realized that Willow was looking at her and raising her hand up nervously; looking at the redhead, Dr. Weir then nodded her head, signalling Willow to continue.

"Ummm," said the redhead, "maybe I should have led with this.. umm… thanks to the shock of the Ancient download? My telekinesis and telepathic abilities activated… and… well… ma'am? You were thinking too loud."

"Oh," said Dr. Weir as she leaned forward and raised an eyebrow, suddenly worried if the redhead had read any of her other thoughts.

"I'm tuning stuff out," said Willow as she looked at Dr. Weir, and then at Buffy when the Slayer loudly thought about the time she had telepathy after being infected by the blood of a demon. Willow then leaned in and whispered saying that her current abilities weren't like that time at all. Buffy nodded her head as she looked at her best friend before Willow turned and looked at Dr. Weir once again, "we don't know why Fifth let us go, ma'am."

"How about the safety of Earth?" asked Dr. Weir a she shook her head which she tried to get around the fact that one of the members of SG-1 had developed psychic abilities.

"Psionic, ma'am" said Willow with a small smiled on her face, "you were thinking too loud again."

'This is going to take some getting used to," said Dr. Weir before shaking her head, and then looked at Major Carter, "Major? You were the one who had contact with him, what are the chances of him coming to Earth?"

"With the Asgard using the Ancient weapon to fight off the replicators," said Major Carter as she leaned back on the seat, "I'm guessing that Fifth and the other replicators will be too busy to come after us immediately."

The Major then looked at the weapon on the table, and then at Dr. Weir once again before telling her that she, Willow, and some of the other scientists on base will work on reverse engineering the technology so that they could have a defence should Fifth come to Earth.

"We know what the wave does," said the Major, "all we need is to replicate it, and we'll have an effective weapon we could use."

"Anti-Replicator Gun," said the Colonel while Daniel nodded his head.

"Yes, sir," said the Major smiling at Colonel O'Neill, before she looked at Dr. Weir who nodded her head.

"But not here," said the Base Commander as she nodded her head and Major Carter, and then looked at the other members of the team, "and not now. It's a piece of alien technology that may lead the replicators directly to Earth if it was used and…"

"It won't, Dr. Weir," said the Major.

"Even so," Dr. Weir replied nodding her head, "the Gate's going to be reopened for off-world travel in a month and a half; Major, I'd like for you to take the weapon to our Beta Site. From there you can run all the experiments you need so that you could reverse engineer a weapon to defend this planet."

"He was angry, ma'am," said the Major, "when I was stuck in his hallucination.. I could feel his anger and, and his sense of betrayal…. He's like a child; he'll sulk for a little while before he lashes out again. First he'll lash out at the Asgard since they'll be using the Ancient weapon to destroy the other replicators, and then he may come after us."

"But with Thor saying that their ships will be loaded with a ship based version of the weapon," said Daniel, "Fifth could be destroyed before he even comes after us."

"Yea," replied the Major.

"Can you guarantee me that Fifth can't track any energy given off by the weapon?" asked Dr. Weir as she looked at the Major, who in turn looked at Willow, before the both of them looked at Dr. Weir together and said that they weren't sure.

"I doubt it, ma'am," said Willow.

"Does Fifth know Earth's location?" asked Dr. Weir.

"He was in my head," replied the Major, "I won't be surprised."

Dr. Weir then leaned back and rubbed her forehead before looking at SG-1 again; she was afraid that activating the weapon from the SGC would mean that there was a possibility that Fifth could track any signals the weapon may be giving off. She also knew that Fifth would be busy in the Asgard galaxy after licking his wounds; or, as Major Carter just told them, he was going to be sulking for sometime in regards to losing the Major, before he decides to fire back at the Asgard for killing his fellow replicators.

'We can hope that the Asgard find him, or that he finds the Asgard and attacks,' thought Dr. Weir to herself, 'either way the Asgard use the weapon on him, and he dies. But if he comes here first, if he knows the way to Earth and we're not ready? Damn…"

"Major," said Dr. Weir as she looked at the blonde haired older officer, "start running limited tests on the Ancient weapon. Limit your activations in case the energy it releases can be tracked… and yes, I know you'll say that the energy released is small, but I'd like to remain on the side of caution. When you take it to the Beta site, you can experiment to your heart's content."

"Understood," said the Major nodded her head, along with Willow.

"Now," said Dr. Weir as she nodded at the Scythe on the table, "I'm guessing that's not a weapon used to fight replicators?"

"No, ma'am," said Buffy as she brushed her fingers along the curved blade of the weapon. She could feel it calling out to her when she touched it; she could feel her heart beating faster when she had a feeling go through her that the weapon was hers.

A weapon made for the Slayer.

Or in her case; it was a weapon made for a Slayer.

"Lieutenant?' asked Dr. Weir when she noticed that Buffy was just brushing her fingers along the blade with a faraway look in her eyes, "Lieutenant."

"Sorry, ma'am," said Buffy as she reluctantly pulled her hand away from the blade and looked at Dr. Weir, "Willow said that the Scythe has some of the First Slayer's essence, it.. it's calling to me. When I touch it.. it.. it feels like it belongs to me."

Before the wide eyed Dr. Weir could say anything else, Colonel O'Neill, and Daniel then spoke up saying that they held the weapon as well; as did Teal'c but they didn't feel anything.

"It feels like an ordinary weapon, Dr. Weir," said Teal'c, "however, I do have to say that it is light for its size, and impeccably balanced. It would make a fine melee weapon."

"I held it too after Willow and Buffy told me about it," said Major Carter as she nodded at the weapon, "I didn't feel anything from it either; Thor ran a scan on the weapon after I was healed, and like Willow told us… the weapon contains traces of Naquada. But it can't detect any energy signatures emanating from it."

"I can though," said Buffy as she reached out for the Scythe again and then put her hand on the handle, and gripped in tightly, "it's there. I can feel it."

"Perhaps not even Asgard sensors have been able to detect mystical energy," said Teal'c as Buffy put the Scythe down onto the table again and nodded her head.

"It's true," said Major Carter, "which is why Thor asked Buffy if she could let them test the Scythe for a few days after they're done with the replicator threat. He said that he was intrigued that Buffy was able to feel something from the Scythe when none of us, even Willow, wasn't able to get anything from it."

"He's excited," replied the Colonel as he looked at Dr. Weir, "this is something that the Asgard haven't encountered."

"I thought they were in the alliance with the Furlings," said Dr. Weir as she looked at Willow, who nodded her head, "Lieutenant?"

"The Furlings had different sects; the purely mystical sects, those that dabbled in pure science, and finally those who balanced the science and the mystical," said Willow, "but the Asgard didn't have much contact with the mystical sects of the Furlings; and while it's true that the Furlings in the alliance were those with scientific and mystical backgrounds.. they concentrated more on the sciency parts. They left the mystics, magic, to the various mystical sects."

"Plus they were fighting against the Goa'uld," said Daniel, "can't blame them for wanting to concentrate more on beating them, than researching on magic."

"True," replied the Colonel nodding his head.

"So what do we do about the Scythe?" asked Dr. Weir as she looked at Buffy, "Lieutenant?"

"I'm gonna give it to Faith," said the blonde haired Slayer, "I.. I think she needs it more than I do, but I'd like to take a few days off and test it out myself on some vampires and demons before I turn it over fully… I mean if that's alright, ma'am."

"Our off-world missions are on hold for the next month and a half," said Dr. Weir, "after this briefing, all of you have a two week break; well, everyone except for Lieutenant Rosenberg and Major Carter, I need the both of you to begin researching the Ancient weapon in a week."

"Understood," said Willow and Major Carter.

Dr. Weir's gaze then turned to the ball-like device which Major Carter rolled to her from across the table. Dr. Weir then caught it, and picked it up in her hand before she looked at the strange carvings on the device, and then looked up at the Major.

"Thor ran scans on it," said Major Carter as she nodded at the device, "that's the Ancient version of a MALP."

"A hover MALP, if you will," said Colonel O'Neill as the Major smiled.

"Of course, sir," replied Major Carter before telling Dr. Weir what Thor's scans of the device had told them. She and Willow explained the variety of sensors that were present in the device, she told the diplomat about a module that allowed the device to be either remotely controlled or it could be self guided. Willow then told Dr. Weir that the scans showed it having some sort of flash storage that allowed it to record video and sound.

"And there's a loudspeaker," said Daniel as Dr. Weir nodded her head and then looked at the device.

"Power?" asked the Base Commander as she looked at the Major.

"Thor's guessing there's a charge for, maybe, three days of continuous exploration," said Major Carter, "but we'll need to run tests on how to effectively recharge the device."

"Get to it," said Dr. Weir as she put the device on the table, "if we can send something like this through the Gate instead of a MALP… wow."

"It can be self guided," said Willow, "so we can just let it go for a day, or a few hours while it does some recon."

"And it's small," said Buffy as she looked at the Mobile MALP, "hard for anyone to see it… or shoot it if they see it."

"Can we connect to it remotely from the SGC?" asked Dr. Weir.

"We'll have to run some tests," said Willow, "I'll come up with a remote control design that'll let us control it, and there'll be a screen where we can see what it see's when we're on the field."

"The same principle can be used for the Control room," said Major Carter as Dr. Weir nodded her head.

"Very well," said Dr. Weir, "I want teams on reverse engineering both the Ancient Anti-Replicator Weapon, and this Mobile MALP. You know my rules on the Anti-Replicator Weapon, but once that's out of this base… Major I'd like for you to head up the team that'll check out how it does what it does, and how it does it. And finally, I want plans to build a weapon that will protect his planet in the event that the Replicators decide to come here."

"Understood," said the Major nodding her head.

'Lieutenant, I'm taking you off the team for the Ancient Weapon" said Dr. Weir as she looked at Willow, "I want you to lead a team that'll be responsible for reverse engineering a prototype based off the Ancient Mobile MALP."

'Ok," said Willow nodding her head excitedly.

"Take whoever you need to help you," replied Dr. Weir while Willow and Major Carter both nodded their heads.

"Very well," said Dr. Weir as she got up and nodded at Willow, and Major Carter, "welcome back, the both of you. Now go back home, and relax. That's an order."

"Understood," said Major Carter as she and the others stood up. Dr. Weir then walked back to her office.

"So, dinner?" asked Colonel O'Neill as he rubbed his hands together with glee as he looked at everyone, "O'Malley's? Open till two?"

"Ummm…" said Major Carter, "Sir, I… I mean I have to go and see Pete.. and…"

Willow and Buffy looked at each other, and then at Tara when the Major mentioned her boyfriend, Pete Shanahan. They then rolled their eyes, which was something Daniel noticed as he smiled at the ridiculousness of how the Major and Pete got together.

"I'm buying," said the Colonel with a smirk on his face.

"I'm up for that, sir," said Buffy.

"Me too," replied Willow and Tara together.

"Jack buying dinner?" asked Daniel, "I'm in."

"As am I," said Teal'c.

"Carter?" asked the Colonel, "Pete in town?"

"He's supposed to stay over at my place for a week, since yesterday," said Major Carter.

"Lucky we got you back when we did, huh?" asked the Colonel as he looked at Major Carter, and then noticed the three young woman looking back at him. The Colonel then shook his head and looked back at the Major before telling her that Pete could come along if he wanted.

"It's alright, sir," said the Major.

"Alright, Carter," said the Colonel you've got the week off, "so enjoy yourself."

The Major then nodded her head before Colonel O'Neill told everyone to get ready to leave in thirty minutes; that he needed his fix of steak with all the trimmings. Buffy put her hand on Willow's shoulders with Tara walking next to the redhead as they walked out of the briefing room, and into the hallway. The blonde Slayer, who had the Scythe in one hand then told Tara and Willow that she'll leave for Sunnydale after Dr. Fraiser's barbeque. She then asked if they wanted to come along as well.

"Make it late at night, I have to show Willow some… stretches I learnt after dinner," whispered Tara as she grinned at Buffy, and then glanced at Willow, and then at Buffy again before raising an eyebrow.

"How about we forget it, and I go first? Then you guys join me in Sunnydale?" asked Buffy as the three off them hung back while Daniel and the others walked on ahead to the elevator lobby, "you know, in case you two... ahem.. I mean Willow's been gone for over a month, and well. Look, my noise-free headphone's are busted at home, and I am so not looking forward to hearing things from the both of you that should only be in really bad horror movies."

"Hey," whispered Willow as she playfully slapped Buffy's arm, "we're not that loud."

"You're not going anywhere," said Tara as she put an arm around Buffy's shoulders. They then stopped talking when they got closer to the others who were still in the lobby waiting for the elevators. Willow told the Major that she was going to head to Sunnydale for her week off, and she'll be in touch with each other on any ideas they have in regards to the Ancient Weapon and the Mobile MALP.

"Carter?" asked the Colonel, "going somewhere for the week off?"

"Pete said something about wanting to introduce me to his parents in Denver," said the Major as she looked at the Colonel, but then looked away when she said that it was something that she was looking forward to. Tara could see that the blonde officer was uncomfortable with talking about the man who Major Carter had told her that was someone normal for her, someone not with the military that she could have a proper relationship with.

Tara still remembered the first day that she, Buffy, and Willow met Pete; it was at a coffee shop where the three of them were having breakfast, and Major Carter had walked in with Pete not knowing that the three of them were at the same place. Tara could see that the Major was instantly nervous upon seeing the three young woman; and it seemed that she and Pete were about to leave when Buffy and Willow waved at them excitedly.

Back in the present day, the team walked into the elevator back in the SGC, Tara saw the Colonel press the button for the twentieth floor, which was the floor that contained Tara, Willow's, and Buffy's quarters; he then pressed the button for the nineteenth floor which contained the quarters for the men; and finally he pressed the tenth floor which was the floor the elevator would stop before the Major had to change elevators for the one that led to the lobby on the surface.

With the doors of the elevator closing, Tara thought back to that day at the coffee shop as the Major walked towards the table where Buffy and the others were sitting. She then introduced Pete, who shook their hands with excitement while saying that 'Sammy', as he called her, worked with a lot of beautiful women. It was that statement made Buffy, Willow, and Tara look each other while silently wondering if he really said what he said. However, Tara glanced over at the Major who was just holding on to Pete.. her aura telling the blonde witch that she was clearly attracted to the man. Later on, Tara found that even Pete's aura was normal.. and she did mention it to Major Carter the next day at the SGC; but she added privately that she felt something from him. Tara explained to Major Carter that while his aura showed he was a normal human, there was something else she couldn't put her fingers on.

"You know," said Tara privately when she and the Major were walking down a hallway months ago at the SGC when General Hammond was still in command, "there is someone here your aura reacts to."

"And you know why I can't.. you know," said the Major as she whispered at Tara while sighing, "no matter how much I want to."

Back in the present day, Tara shook her head as the elevator beeped, and the doors opened. She pushed those thoughts to the back of her head, and walked out of the elevator with Buffy, and Willow with the Colonel telling the young women that he'll meet them up in the lobby in thirty minutes.

Tara and the others nodded their heads and waved at the Major, who waved back at them, just before the doors closed. The three of them walked down the hallway until Buffy stopped at a door and swiped a card over a scanner. She then looked at Willow and Tara and asked them to take it easy, and not be too loud.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Willow as Buffy grinned before getting into her room.

"I'll see you in twenty five minutes," said Buffy before she closed the door, "then we'll go upstairs together."

"See ya, Buff," said Willow as Buffy waved at them before Willow and Tara walked over to another door. The blonde witch then opened her door after swiping her card over a scanner and then entered the room.

"You wanna come in?" asked Tara as she turned and looked at Willow while keeping the door open.

"Camera's all over the place, sweetie," said Willow with a smirk, "and trust me when I say that I want my smoochies. But alas, we have to wait until after we're done with dinner."

"I'll be punishing you for playing that trick on me," whispered the blonde witch as she smirked at the redhead, "today punishment, tomorrow stretching.. I think Buffy forgot."

"Punish me away," said Willow as she took one step forward, "I love you, Tara. I... I was wondering if you think we should let Major Carter know.. about us, I mean."

"Yeah," said Tara nodding her head, "and then..."

"Then... then you and me will head for Sunnydale after the barbeque at Dr. Fraiser's place," said Willow, "and... and.. and Tara? There's something I wanted to tell you when we were... I mean.. how about we tell the Major first? And then when we get to Sunnydale, we have a picnic at Kingman's Bluff? Just you and me?"

"I'd love that," replied Tara.

Willow nodded her head, doing everything she could to stop herself from kissing Tara at that moment in time. Instead, she headed to her room as Tara closed the door behind her. For her part, Tara was worried that Willow didn't remember what she had told her back in that vision the both of them shared of Atlantis, she didn't know if Willow was really going to propose to her.

"If she's not," said Tara silently as she headed to the side table near her bed, and then she opened the top drawer and took out a black box. Tara then opened the box, sat on her bed, and then looked at the silver band that had a small diamond on top of it, "then maybe it's time I stopped being a coward about this and just asked her to marry me. I can do it away from Jack and the others at Sunnydale, that way if she says no.. will she say no? Goddess, I hope she says 'yes'. But I can wait. Till our date then.'

TBC.

 


	84. Chapter 84

**Air Force Academy Hospital, 1030 hours.**

With Willow back in the land of the living, there was one more important thing that needed to be done before she could officially be 'back'. It was something that Colonel O'Neill told the redhead during dinner after he told the surprised Willow about how upset her parents were when they were told that she was 'missing'. Tara, whose arm was around the redhead's shoulder, told Willow about how her parents would call and ask if they heard anything about their daughter. Noticing the surprise evident on Willow's face, followed by Willow's explanation about what her parents are like… at least how she thought they were like, Teal'c leaned forward and told the redhead that Ira and Sheila Rosenberg were still her parents, and despite how distant they seemed while she was growing up; that was something that would not change.

"They still love you," said Major Carter.

Back in the present day, Willow was in the role of the injured Lieutenant who was recently brought back from a harrowing ordeal. As Willow looked at Tara sleeping on the couch next to her bed, the redhead thought back to what happened so far and decided that everything she had gone through was a harrowing ordeal in itself; she was dead, then she was cloned and returned to life, she lost her memories, followed by having the database of an alien race… her race… downloaded into her mind. She was then responsible for the destruction of an entire fleet of Goa'uld ships that entered planetary orbit, before she spent nearly one and a half months in stasis.

'I remember nothing,' thought Willow to herself as she looked at Tara, 'I know Tara was there, but I don't remember seeing her.. or… does it matter? She's here now; my love is here now.'

She smiled as she lay back on her pillow after pressing a button that raised the back of her bed, the sound made by the gears and mechanics of the bed waking up Tara who opened her eyes slightly before wiping them with the back of her hand.

"Hey, sweetie," said Willow with a smile as Tara sat up, yawned and then raised her arms over her head and stretched. The redhead looked on as Tara stretched her body while she eyed her girlfriend up and down; it was something that Tara noticed after she put her arms back down and swept her hair back behind her ears after strands fell over her face. Tara then stood up, and walked towards Willow with a smile on her face.

As she walked closer, Tara noticed the sight of the cream coloured bandages that really didn't cover any injury; in fact that bandage, and a few others that were barely visible were just for show… for Ira and Sheila's benefit. However, the I.V line going into the top of Willow's hand was very real since her blood tests showed that she was dehydrated.

"Sleep well?" asked Tara before looking around and then, upon seeing no camera in the room and given the fact that there was a curtain that blocked the view of the single bed from anyone looking in through the glass window on the door, the blonde witch leaned in and gave Willow a deep kiss. The redhead grabbed the back of Tara's head and used her I.V hand to wrap around the witch's waist. Willow then pulled up the back of Tara's shirt and brushed her fingers on her bare back when Tara suddenly broke the kiss and pulled back slightly.

"Hey," whimpered Willow as she looked at Tara.

"You keep on doing that?" said Tara while Willow was massaging her lower back, "I'll have no choice but to take you right here, and right now. And if that happens, then the both of us are in deep trouble."

"Fine," pouted Willow as she pulled down the back of Tara's shirt before the witch kissed the redhead once again.

"Don't worry though," said Tara as she grinned at Willow, "do you remember us talking just before you went into stasis?"

"We did?" asked Willow as she narrowed her eyes while Tara kept on grinning, "what did we talk about?"

"Oh, you had some messages you wanted me to give the others," said Tara while Willow tilted her head, "you know… tell Jack to eat right, tell Sam to eat something, and some other stuff… but what I really focused on was, well, you said you wanted me to do a little strip-tease for you."

"Yeah," said Willow grinning while she nodded her head, "sounds like me."

"So," replied Tara, "when we get home… well, it's a surprise."

"I like surprises," said Willow with a grin as she waggled her eyebrows at Tara, "did I ask for anything else?"

"Oh yeah," said Tara as she recalled something else that the redhead mentioned, "but that… I'll have to check up on."

"What did I say?" asked Willow with her eyes wide open, "Tara?"

"I won't tell," said Tara before she playfully stuck her tongue out at the redhead. Willow then narrowed her eyes before beginning to pout at the blonde witch. She pout some more while Tara started to giggle before telling Willow to stop, that she was being too cute. Tara leaned forward and kissed Willow again before whispering in her ear.

"I'm still not gonna tell," said Tara before she bit Willow's earlobe and then stepped back laughing while the redhead could only look at her girlfriend with eyes narrowed. Tara then put her hands on her hip and raised an eyebrow, "oh, I'm gonna have my revenge on you for what you did."

"Oh boy," said Willow, "I'm going to pay for that, aren't I?"

"Oh, yeah," said Tara just as there was a knock on the door, and the blonde peeked behind the curtain and saw Buffy peek her head into the room from behind the door, "hey, Buffy.. they here?"

"Yeah," said the Slayer, "can we come in?"

Tara smiled and nodded her head as Buffy stepped back before walking in, she was followed by both Sheila and Ira Rosenberg, the latter had a few large balloons in one hand as they rushed into the room. Tara just smiled at the both of them before stepping out of the way, and then she saw something that Willow herself hadn't seen before… Sheila crying as she screamed Willow's name and then rushed forward to hug the redhead.

All the while, Ira was standing behind Sheila who was sitting on the bed hugging the momentarily stunned Willow, whose eyes were wide open as she looked at the warm smile on Tara and Buffy's faces. Tara and Buffy saw Sheila's body shake, something that was so out of character for her from how Willow had described her mother; all the while, Ira tied the balloons to the sides of Willow's hospital bed before he stroked the back of Willow's head and then leaned down and kissed it. Tara and Buffy then looked at each other, and then at Willow whose eyes were tearing up at the whole situation she found herself in with her parents, before they nodded their heads towards the door… silently indicating that they'll be outside, and that Willow should have this moment with her parents to herself.

"Mrs. Rosenberg," said Tara as she held onto Willow tightly, "Willow's going to be released in two hours so… well, after that.. you guys can spend some time together."

"We will, my dear," said Ira as he nodded his head at Tara.

Tara and Buffy then waved at Willow before the blonde Slayer made a signal with her left hand for the redhead to give them a call once it was over. Willow then nodded her head at them before the two head away from the bed. The two of them then headed to the door, and left the room leaving Willow and her parents inside. While Buffy and Tara were walking down the hallway towards the exit while back in the room, Sheila and Ira held on tight to their daughter.

"I want to hear everything," said Sheila as she stroked Willow's back while hugging her, "I know we weren't there always, Willow. I know you don't approve of how we raised you.. but our main goal was to make you independent. We wanted you to rely on yourself before you could rely on others.. and… and you've done both."

"We missed you," said Ira as he sat behind the redhead, patting her back. The three of them stayed like that for several minutes while Buffy and Tara reached the formers car, and hopped in. Once Tara closed the passenger side door, she looked at Buffy who turned the engine on before she looked at Tara and asked if she wanted to grab some coffee while waiting for the call from Willow.

"Ummm… there's something I wanna ask you," said Tara as her face suddenly became red, and then she looked down as her fingers played with each other.

"Ok?" asked Buffy as she raised an eyebrow at Tara, who looked back at the Slayer with her face as red as a beet, "oh my God, you're horny for Willow aren't you?"

"Huh? No… I mean yeah.. but… wait…" said Tara as she shook her head and waved her hands about while Buffy was trying her best not to laugh at the way her friend was acting. Tara then stopped moving, took a deep breath, and then asked Buffy to keep an open mind about what she was going to ask since it mostly dealt with paying Willow back for scaring her back at the SGC.

"Hey," said Buffy as she put her hands up, "I'm all up for scaring Willow… or at least doing something similar to what she did. But why'd I need to have an open mind?"

"Ok," said Tara as she took another deep breath, "but let me finish up saying what I want to say before you say yes, or no."

Buffy nodded her head and asked the blonde witch to continue.

"Before Willow was put into stasis," said Tara, "remember I told you guys what her messages were to each of you?"

"Yeah," said Buffy nodding her head, "you told us about it the next day."

"Well, there was one thing she… well, two things but I think she forgot she talked to me about it," said Tara before she shook her head, "Buffy, one of the things she wanted.. well, I kinda promised a strip-tease.. so that's happening."

"I don't wanna know," said Buffy her eyes open wide in mock horror, "I don't wanna know and… I mean just let me not know… and… I mean I can watch a movie at Major Carter's place but.. great, that idiot will be there so…."

"Buffy," said Tara as Buffy stopped talking and just looked at her, "that's not all. How do you feel about… I mean, I was thinking about playing a trick on Willow, and…"

"This isn't some kinky sexual stuff, is it?" asked Buffy as she raised an eyebrow at Tara, "Tara? Is it and…. oh my God it is, isn't it?"

"I was thinking… I mean.. I was thinking about going to Victoria Secret and… I mean..," said Tara nervously as she looked at Buffy's facial expressions, "I mean… hold on. Let's start this from the beginning. I was thinking that when she gets back home after Sheila and Ira have gone back to their hotel, we would change into the sexiest things we have… then we present ourselves…"

"Present ourselves?" said Buffy with a straight face that she was struggling to keep, "really?"

"Ok, bad word choice," said Tara waving her hands about, "we'll be… showing ourselves off to her in our best.. stuff. You know… stuff… the stuff from Victoria Secret and… I mean… I'll say something like 'you can have both of us'… and…"

"Yeah," said Buffy chuckling while waggling her eyebrows as Tara tried to talk in a seductive voice that only turned out to be very squeaky, "you sound so sexy."

"Buffy," said Tara as she playfully slapped the Slayer's arm.

"Sorry, Tara," said Buffy as she rubbed the site where the witch slapped her arm, "I don't do the whole pain thing… I mean you and Willow may be into the whole S and M, and…."

"Hey," said Tara just as Buffy started to laugh out loud in her car while Tara looked at the Slayer with narrowed eyes, "I don't do the pain thing and… and I mean I want to do some things and.. wait…; did you know that there was one time, before you moved in with us that Willow and I used a whip and…"

"Oh God please stop," said Buffy in abject horror as she looked at the serious face on Tara. It was a few seconds later that Tara started laughing, telling Buffy between breaths of air that the Slayer should see her face in the rear-view mirror and that the only whip play she did with Willow was with whipped cream.

"There goes whipped cream for me," said Buffy dryly as she shook her head while Tara laughed. It was a few seconds later that Tara stopped laughing while wiping the tears coming out from her eyes. Buffy nodded her head and agreed that she'll join in the trick on Willow, "it's gonna be fun… her expression."

"I'll give you my thoughts on the way to the mall," said Tara as she grinned at Buffy who started to drive the car, "I have a feeling she'll say no… but then again she could say yes. So I have answers to both… but maybe we could come up with something better?"

"Yeah," said Buffy as she drove out of the Air Force Academy Hospital lot, "on to Victoria Secret; get some of the sexy stuff for a prank of my best friend."

"This is going to be fun," said Tara nodding her head.

"I can see it now," said Buffy as she and Tara started to giggle; however, the Slayer had her own idea's on a prank for both Tara, and Willow.

Provided that Willow would say 'yes' to Tara's question to Buffy joining the two of them.

'I know Willow,' thought Buffy to herself, 'she'll say yes to scare me and Tara, to see what I'd do. So, I'll say yes, surprise the both of them… move in for a near kill.. and then leave. This is gonna be fun… for me.'

TBC.

 


	85. Chapter 85

**The Citadel mall, Colorado Springs.**

Both Buffy and Tara had spent nearly two hours at the mall while doing some window shopping after having bought some lingerie that they were sure would knock the socks off anyone they met. Buffy told Tara that she thought Willow would stop listening to what the two of them were going to tell her once the redhead saw the blonde witch in her light pink number.

"She won't even notice me," said Buffy with a pout as they exited another shop while Tara laughed as the Slayer put an arm around Tara's shoulders. The both of them continued window shopping before they sat down for lunch at the mall's food court, which was when Willow contacted them via texts to Tara's phone saying that she was heading out with her parents for lunch, that they had a lot to talk about before Ira and Sheila had to get back to Sunnydale.

"Sunnydale?" asked Buffy as Tara read out the text which continued by saying that the Rosenberg's were due for two semesters of teaching at U.C Sunnydale as Buffy nodded her head. Tara read the texts from Willow in surprise especially about the section where they insisted Willow stay in their family home, that it was about time they did something together since the redhead had a few days off following her ordeal. Tara looked up from her phone and smiled at Buffy before telling the blonde Slayer that nothing brings a family together than supposedly being lost and taken as a hostage in the unknown regions of the world.

"True," replied Buffy nodding her head, "did she say when her parents are supposed to be leaving?"

"They're heading for the airport In three hours," said Tara, "we got time… so you have any questions about later? You alright with everything we talked about?"

"Oh, yeah," said Buffy nodding her head. The Slayer knew that Tara would be able to know if she was lying or not, so she really meant it when she said that she was alright with everything that they had talked about while buying the lingerie. However, she had her own changes that she'd be making once they actually had Willow in their sights. For now, though, the two of them just enjoyed themselves before they went for more window shopping. Once they left the mall, Buffy suggested getting some strawberries so that Tara and Willow could have the romantic vibe in their room.

"Or at least, Willow will think it's a romantic vibe going on in your room," said Buffy with a smirk on her lips as Tara's face turned red when Buffy mentioned getting some whipped cream, and some fresh rose petals, "and for me? I'm gonna get a new pair of noise-cancelling headphones so that I can watch a movie on Netflix."

It was an hour later that Buffy slipped, and Tara found out what the Slayer's plan was.

"Not, gonna happen," said Tara as she smirked at Buffy, "we could change the plan but we're both on this… or else I swear to you that we don't buy the noise cancelling headphones, and I'll compel you to come home. And then I'll magically lock the front door so that you can't get out. You'll be forced to hear me and Will screaming for hours, and hours, and hours.

"Oh God, please no," said Buffy as she blocked her ears with her fingers.

**The Girls' apartment, later that day.**

It would be four hours later back at the apartment that Willow would open the door to the apartment she shared with Tara and Buffy. She stepped in, and then closed the door and sighed; it was unusual for her to see both her parents so concerned for her wellbeing that Willow just wasn't used to it. One part of her was freaking out, while another part… the part that longed for so long that her parents would show some concern for her wellbeing was actually happy. That side of her was jumping up and down in joy as Willow, after having gotten off a call with Tara thirty minutes ago after having dropped both Ira and Sheila off at the airport, put her keys into a bowl on the table that was set next to the front door. She then narrowed her eyes and looked around the apartment and then noticed the smell of jasmine in the air, the same scent that the redhead loved for Tara to wear during their dates. She also looked around when she noticed the smell of popcorn wafting in the air as well. Willow then shook her head as she took off her shoes.

'I'm getting my striptease,' thought Willow to herself as she walked into the lit living room when she noticed the red rose petals laying on the floor in the beginning of the hallway that led to the room she shared with Tara, and Buffy's room that was adjacent to it in a corner, 'Buffy, you're my best friend and all but you better not be here… because it will get loud. I have one and a half months of smoochies to catch up on with Tara, and I really don't want you to get any nightmares.'

"Tara?" asked Willow when she heard soft music coming through the door to their room. Willow smiled as she walked on the petal covered floor of the hallway and was tempted to use her emerging telepathic abilities to scan the other side of the door, but thought against it since she wanted to be surprised. The redhead then silently took off her socks, leaving them on the floor where they remained among the rose petals, she then took off her shirt and dropped it on the rose covered carpet, before finally taking off her jeans until she was in her underwear and at the door. Willow grinned as she put her hand on the doorknob, and then twisted it before opening the door and shouting, "Tara! Let me have at you and…. AHHHHH!"

Willow opened her eyes wide as she gave a small scream while she looked at both Buffy and Tara laying on the bed with the Slayer in a matching light pink set of barely see through underwear, and Tara was wearing a black camisole with garters. The both of them were lying on their elbows as they looked at Willow with smirks on both of their faces as the redhead walked into the room with a look of shock on her face. Willow saw Tara flicked her wrist and magically close the door behind the redhead.

"Ummm…" said Willow as she swallowed a lump in her throat while she looked at Buffy and the underwear she was wearing that had tiny roses lining the edges, before she looked at Tara and her deep red lipstick and then at her sheer black camisole where Willow could see a hint of the blonde witch's skin underneath.

'Calm down, Willow," she thought to herself as she looked at Tara, and then at Buffy, and then at Tara again. It was then she noticed a small bucket of strawberries that lay between them.

"I was told something very interesting, Willow," said Buffy as she reached out into the small bucket with one hand, and then took out a strawberry before she licked the bottom tip of the fruit while looking at the redhead who was already getting red faced while Buffy was doing everything she could not to break character and laugh. Buffy then looked at the bottom of the strawberry and then bit into it; letting a few drops of the juice drop onto her chest as it rolled down into her cleavage. Buffy looked down at it, and then pouted before she looked up at Willow whose face was even redder than before while her mouth remained open, "I heard that you wanted a striptease from Tara."

"Uh huh," said Willow nodding her head while still in abject shock as she watched Tara slowly get up from her side of the bed while swaying her hips to the soft music. Willow saw Tara turn around as she danced slowly and sensually before looking over her shoulder at the redhead while Buffy slowly got off the bed while looking at Willow, who herself was looking at the both of them and wondering what was going on since she couldn't read any of their minds; she couldn't even get a stray thought from either.

"Buffy said you'll try to see what we wanted," said Tara as she danced towards the still stunned Willow. Tara then stepped behind the redhead before pulling her closer. The blonde witch blew gently into Willow's ear which made the redhead close her eyes and open her mouth in pleasure as Tara went down to kissing the redhead's neck while one hand was rubbing the front of Willow's bare abdomen while Tara's other hand was laying gently across Willow's collarbone.

The redhead moaned when Tara bit her earlobe… and then immediately opened her eyes when she remembered that Buffy was in the room walking towards her with a smirk on her face.

"Ummm…" said Willow before she yelped when Tara bit her earlobe.

"You said you wanted a threesome with Buffy," said Tara as she whispered into Willow's ear while the blonde Slayer, trying to hide her trembling hands, placed her hands on Willow's waist and then took another step forward, "and here we are."

"All for you, Will," said Buffy in the most seductive voice she could manage while she put a hand on Willow's waist and stepped forward as the Slayer placed a hand gently on Willow's cheek while Tara was gently kissing the redhead's neck from behind, "if you don't want this, then I can go… it's up to you."

Willow looked at Buffy through narrowed eyes while the blonde Slayer was caressing her cheek, and Tara's hands were slowly roaming around Willow's body while whispering into her ear that they had done a lot to prepare for this moment.

"Just let go, Will," said Tara before she bit the redhead's neck and then stepped around to her front with a smirk on her face, "you and Buffy can go, I'll be behind you enjoying the view and playing with my hands."

"Buff?" asked Willow as she looked at the blonde and gulped, "you… ah… umm…"

"It's my first time," said Buffy as she leaned in close to Willow's face. She leaned in closer while Tara put her hand gently on Willow's shoulder, squeezing it to show that she was alright with it while she moved behind Willow again and kissed between her shoulder blades, "be gentle?"

"Umm…" said Willow as she looked at the barely clothed Buffy. Willow took in a deep breath before she nodded her head, "you really want this, Buff?"

"You wanted this, sweetie," said Tara from behind the redhead, "you wanna read my mind? I hid my thoughts from you so that we don't give away the surprise."

"I trust you," said Willow as she looked back at Tara, and then at Buffy before she leaned in. Willow and Buffy's lips brushed against each other before the redhead whispered that she and Tara will help her along. Willow was going to go in for a kiss when Buffy stepped back and put a finger to Willow's lips. And then with a smile on her face, Buffy leaned to the left and looked at Tara who also stopped what she was doing.

"Hey," said Buffy as she looked past a confused Willow, "don't we have that thing to watch….. the 'Bachelor' marathon?"

"Right," said Tara as she snapped her fingers while Willow just stood stunned as Buffy hurried to the bed and grabbed the bucket of strawberries while Tara blew out the candles and turned off the music before rushing past the still stunned Willow who was looking at the same place where Buffy was standing before she was about to kiss her.

"Ummm…," said Willow as she finally turned around and looked at the grinning Buffy and Tara, "what just happened? My striptease? My threesome?"

"Yeah," said Buffy in her underwear as she opened the door while Tara leaned on the door frame while carrying the bucket of strawberries, one of which she popped into her mouth before saying that they were really sweet.

"I told you this brand was good," said Buffy as she nudged the blonde before heading into the hallway while looking over her shoulder with a grin on her face, "Will, it could have been fun."

"Told you I'll make you pay for playing that trick on me," grinned Tara before she kissed the still stunned redhead and then ran to the living room where Buffy turned on the television and sat on the couch. Tara ran to the kitchen and got the bowl of popcorn out of the microwave before giggling as the program started and Tara sat next to Buffy. The bowl of popcorn between them while the strawberries were placed on the coffee table. The two of them laughed out loud even more when Willow whined as she walked down the hallway.

"Hey, that's not fair," said the redhead as she looked down at the two of them as Buffy shoved some popcorn into her mouth, as did Tara while the both of them looked at Willow before grinning, "I miss my smoochies."

"Let this be a lesson not to trick me again," said Tara as she leaned back on the couch.

"And you went along, Buffy?" asked Willow.

"Sorry, Will," said Buffy, "but you really should have seen your face."

"We should have had a camera," said Tara as she giggled at Willow who narrowed her eyes at the both of them.

"Just so you know, this means war," said Willow with a smirk as she crossed her arms over her chest, "my wrath will be felt by…"

"Popcorn?" asked Buffy as she held out the bowl towards Willow.

"Yes, please," said the redhead as she sat down next to Tara and grabbed the bowl while looking at one of the contestants going out on a date, "new season?"

"Uh huh," said Buffy as she grabbed a handful of strawberries.

"Neat," said Willow as she put her head on Tara's shoulder.

"Welcome back, Will," said Tara as she lay her head on top of Willow's head.

"Next stop, Sunnydale tomorrow," said Buffy, "and we don't tell Xander about this."

"He'll enjoy it," said Tara as Buffy nodded her head.

"Oh, yeah," replied Willow as she grabbed some popcorn and stuffed the handful into her mouth, "Sunnydale tomorrow, and no one ever find out about this. Ever."

"Indeed," said all three young women together.

TBC.

 


	86. Chapter 86

**The Summers House.**

With the title of 'Guardian of the Sunnydale Hellmouth' now firmly passed down to Faith with the transfer of the Scythe to the dark-haired Slayer, Buffy was now fully committed to the SGC. Not that she wasn't committed before; there was always the nagging presence at the back of her mind that she should still be out there fighting demons.

That feeling was there even when she was off-world.

Then she saw the expression of pure joy on Faith's face as she held the Scythe for the first time after they had visited Sunnydale two and a half months ago.

And Buffy knew she was doing the right thing. She accepted that Faith, her one-time rival and enemy, and now her adopted sister was the true Slayer. She was the one the line went through, so she was the one who should be holding onto the scythe.

However, before she let go of the Scythe permanently to her adopted sister, Buffy insisted on going on patrol with the dark-haired Slayer. The two of them had fun as they counted out the number of vampires the killed, Buffy with the scythe and Faith with a stake.

It was a week later that Willow returned to the SGC while Tara and Amy were working together at the IPR until the blonde witch and Buffy could leave a week later. Buffy was there with Cordelia, Giles, Xander, Anya, Dawn, Amy, and Faith when Willow walked into the Summers house the second night they were in Sunnydale; their hands intertwined in each other's as the redhead and the witch looked at each other and grinned before looking at the group of Scoobies. Buffy suspected she knew what it was about when Tara nodded at her, and the blonde Slayer gave a smile.

Willow told everyone that during their date at Kingman's Bluff, Tara proposed to her.

Buffy saw a grin on Faith's face before she looked at Dawn who put both hands over her mouth in shock; a few seconds later the brunette Key started to scream and jump up and down. Everyone laughed when the young brunette launched herself at Willow and Tara before begging Willow to tell them that she said yes, that she was going to marry Tara.

"Yes," said Willow as Dawn screamed in joy again, making everyone present put their hands over their ears at the shrill screams of the brunette as she hugged Willow tightly while the both of them jumped.

While Dawn was being excited, Tara told the group that they haven't told Willow's parents yet, and they still needed to tell Major Carter about them. And that was something they were going to wait to do, since they didn't plan on getting married so soon.

"So," asked Amy looking at Willow after Dawn let her go and was now 'attacking' Tara, "when's the big day?"

"A year," said Willow as Xander hugged her while she was looking at Amy.

"We are all happy for the both of you," said Giles as he hugged Tara while Faith patted Willow on the back and Anya hugged the redhead tight. Any was whispering into Willow's ear that while she was happy for the redhead, Willow had better not have her wedding at the same time as her and Xander.

"I won't," said Willow as she whispered into Anya's ear while recalling the former vengeance demon tell them last night, right after Willow and Tara came to the Summers home after arriving at the redhead's parents' house, that Xander had proposed to her.

Then came Buffy's turn to hug the redhead.

"Thank you," said Willow as she held on to her best friend tight.

"For what?" asked Buffy into Willow's ear.

"For being there for Tara when I was… you know, out of it."

"Just doing my friend-duties," said Buffy as she pulled back and looked at Willow, who glanced at Tara who nodded her head. Willow then looked at Buffy again and nodded her head towards the front door.

"Can we talk?" asked Willow.

**Stargate Command, two and a half months later; three minutes before Anubis' possession of Willow.**

Back in the present day, Buffy was running through the hallways after Willow; after her best friend who was possessed by possibly their greatest enemy.. Anubis. Under his control, he had used Willow's body to attack the S.F's, General O'Neill, and various others. Her first target was Tara who had just gotten back from a mission with SG-9. She was the one who sensed that Anubis was in Daniel's body when the archaeologist was heading off to an archaeological site with another team once she had passed him after the Stargate disengaged at their return. Buffy was at the gym, and Willow was in her lab when Tara pointed out that Daniel was possessed by a Goa'uld. With Tara being who she was for the SGC; a reliable young woman who would never joke about something a serious as this, the S.F's in the Gateroom, as well as SG-9 and Daniel's own team took out their Zats and pointed the weapons at him.

All Buffy had heard was that Daniel was taken into custody after he was zatted by one of the S.F's after he tried to take out his sidearm. Buffy heard that Tara was the first to get to the man, and then things went to hell. She was in the gym with Teal'c when the klaxons blared and the newly minted Lt. Colonel Carter's voice rang through the P.A system that she needed security in her lab. Buffy and Teal'c looked at each other before they ran towards her lab. The two of them were soon met by General O'Neill, as well as four other S.F's, at the Colonel's lab where they saw Colonel Carter lying on the floor unconscious but breathing, and the Anti-Willow weapon destroyed. Buffy and the others looked at each other in concern as the General headed for the wall phone and called for Dr. Fraiser. Once he was done, then Willow's voice shouted over the P.A system asking for help, followed by the distinct sound of a Zat in the background followed by Willow shouting through the speakers that Tara was down… that the blonde shot herself with a Zat, and so Willow needed a medical team to her lab.

"What!" shouted Buffy as she, Teal'c and General O'Neill, who told two of the S.F's to wait in the Colonel's lab until Dr. Fraiser and her team arrived to take care of the blonde officer. The three of them hurried over to Willow's lab on the next floor up and saw the redhead standing over the blonde witch who was lying unconscious on the floor, while the redhead was looking at her hands; both front and back, then up her arms before looking at the three of them with a smile on her face.

"I never realized that mystics existed on this backward planet," said Willow as she looked at the three of them and then at Tara, "so many memories in her mind; memories of mystics, memories of a device that nullified her abilities, to the powers that are contained in this host."

"Who are you?" asked Buffy as she narrowed her eyes at Willow.

"Host?" asked the General.

"I am your god," said Willow as she gathered greyish-white energy in one hand, and an electrical charge on the other hand, "I am Anubis!"

"Duck!" shouted Buffy as she and the others took cover outside the lab while signalling the approaching medical teams to get away. Before they could even get up, Anubis in Willow's body had walked out into the hallway and used Willow's telekinetic powers to slam the three into the wall, before she turned and telekinetically injured the medical personnel. Anubis turned to Buffy, Teal'c, and the General, and told them that he would use Willow's powers to lay waste to the SGC and that the others couldn't stop her. And then when he was done… he would take Willow's body and leave the planet.

"The Tau'ri are finished," said Anubis before he used Willow's telekinesis to slam them against the walls again before releasing them from his mental hold. Anubis smiled as he then walked away down the hall.

Buffy was the first to slowly get up to her feet as she rubbed her head before she headed to General O'Neill who was slowly getting up, as was Teal'c. Buffy made sure that the General was alright before she ran into Willow's lab and pressed a button on the wall panel.

"This is Lt. Summers," said Buffy, as the General got up and was walking towards her with help from Teal'c, "code red, I repeat we have a code red."

The General nodded his head as Buffy moved aside and headed to Tara so that she could check her pulse. Buffy closed her eyes, and sighed in relief when she felt a pulse; her two friends were going to get married, and one of them was unconscious but alive, and the other one was possessed.

"This is General O'Neill," said the man as Buffy nodded at Teal'c that Tara was alright while the General continued, "I am initiating Wildfire. I repeat lock down the base. We have a Goa'uld in possession of Captain Rosenberg, use extreme caution."

"Sir," said Buffy standing up.

"Get out there, Summers," said the General as Tara started to groan, "stop her. Do what you have to, understood?"

"Yes, sir," said Buffy as she nodded her head and then took off. She recalled the week they had together at Sunnydale, the week of fun before going back to their lives at the SGC. They had begun planning for the wedding, the only downside being that Willow was terrified to tell Colonel Carter… the fact was that no one knew that Willow had accepted Tara's proposal. And now, Buffy wanted to get rid of the Goa'uld possessing her best friend so that she could tell their friends, and superior officers about their wedding... about the love they have for each other.

She wanted to save her best friend from being Anubis' puppet.

'You're getting married, Willow,' thought Buffy to herself as she kept on running while she made a turn into another hallway. There she saw Anubis in Willow's body taking down three fully trained S.F's to the floor. Buffy then felt herself being lifted and then slammed down onto the floor.

**The Summers House, two and a half months ago.**

"So," said Buffy as she stepped out onto the lit porch with Willow while Tara and the others were still staying inside the house, "what's up?"

"I know it's gonna be some time before the whole wedding thing," said Willow, "but you wanna be my maid-of-honor?"

"D'uh," said Buffy as she hugged Willow, "of course, silly."

"Thanks," said Willow as she stepped back and held both of the Slayer's hands, 'there is one more thing."

"Ok," said Buffy, suspicious about what the redhead was going to be telling her.

"Are you gonna see Angel while you're here?" asked Willow.

"I'm thinking about going to LA sometime next week before we have to head back to the SGC, why?"

"Well, Colleen's brother wanted to…." Said Willow who stopped what she wanted to say and chuckled at the expression on Buffy's face.

"No," said Buffy shaking her head, "no way, that guy creeps me out."

"No questions there," said Willow as she held up both her hands in surrender, before she put them down again, "just had to ask. Colleen bet that you'd say no, by the way."

Buffy just smirked as she put her hands on her hips.

"Oh," said Willow as she nodded her head towards the door before she winked at the Slayer, "Tara and I talked, and we were wondering what you thought about that guy who was in my study group? The one I told you about? Dylan? He's at the L.A Air Base and when I talked to him before the whole dying thing… which reminds me I need to call him. Anyway, Tara told me that he called since he heard I was missing and all and…"

"Will, get to the point?" asked Buffy.

"Well," said Willow, "the last I heard from Tara was that he was still single."

"I don't know," said Buffy as she rubbed the back of her head nervously.

"I love Angel too," said Willow, "but you know he'd want you to be happy, and… and well… with the whole soul thing and…."

"I know," said Buffy as she looked at Willow, "let me think about it?"

"Sure," said the redhead.

"Why are you trying to fix me up with someone all of a sudden?" asked Buffy as she looked at her best friend suspiciously.

"Other than the fact that you haven't gone on a date while you were at the Academy, or after graduation?" asked Willow with an eyebrow raised.

"Ummm…. Yea," said Buffy as she realized that Willow was right, "I mean you're right but… I'm not ready, you know?"

"Fine," sighed Willow as she put her arm around her best friend's shoulders. Then then walked towards the door, and then stopped, "did you know that my first choice for a threesome was with Faith."

"Oh God," said Buffy while Willow giggled at seeing her best friend's reaction. Willow's laughter stopped when she felt Buffy moving away from her. The redhead looked in concern as Buffy looked back at her with both hands on her own waist and her head tilted, "wait, Will, are you saying that I'm your second choice? Me? Seriously? Me? Second choice?"

"No.. I mean.. I.," said a flustered Willow as she noticed Buffy raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms over her chest, "I mean my doppelganger from the other reality was with Faith so I wanted to… Should I shut up now?"

"Uh huh," said Buffy with her eyes wide open as she suddenly burst into laughter before putting her arm around Willow's shoulder once again before whispering, "just so you know, I'd have made a fantastic second choice. But you just had to trick Tara."

"Ha ha ha," said Willow as she narrowed her eyes at Buffy, "if I remember correctly, you were ok with it."

"Yeah, well," said Buffy as she pouted, "both reactions were funny, well… hers not so much. But your reaction was hilarious."

"Again," said a sarcastic Willow looking at Buffy with her eyes narrowed at the blonde Slayer, "ha. ha. ha."

**Stargate Command, two and a half months later.**

Buffy felt her body wracked with pain as she slowly opened her eyes to the sound of gunshots, and the blaring of the klaxons, followed by groans and grunts. The Slayer felt herself lying on the cold floor of one of the SGC's many hallways, she could feel the blood from the side of her mouth as she slowly got up to her unsteady feet and saw three S.F's lying close to her unconscious, but breathing. Buffy shook her head as she tried to remember what was happening when she looked up, and into the distance at the end of the hallway.

"Willow!" shouted Buffy as the redhead in green BDU's turned around after she waved her hands and threw a few S.F's with guns aimed at her to one side, slamming them against a wall. Buffy then saw her launch an attack of greyish-white energy blasts towards another two S.F's as they fell to the floor after being hit. Buffy then dove to the floor when Willow ran towards her and fired those blasts of energy. The Slayer then got up and ran the other way just as she felt herself getting hit by an invisible wall that slammed her into the sides of the hallway. The blonde quickly got up and looked at the approaching Willow who had a maniacal grin on her face as she raised both of her hands and gathered energy.

"Let her go, Anubis," said Buffy as she rushed Willow who laughed while firing at the Slayer. Buffy knew that Tara was down for the moment, they were trying to wake her so that she could activate the contingency spell; and Buffy knew that Willow had been possessed by the energy form of Anubis who had arrived on Earth the body of a cosmonaut. That particular cosmonaut died and Anubis' energy form moved on to the Russian's friend, and officer with the Russian Air Force, when he visited him in the hospital back in Moscow. Now that particular Russian Air force officer was in the SGC infirmary after he was the unwilling, and unknowing, carrier of Anubis' energy form. The Goa'uld wanted to use the Russian to go through the Stargate so that he could restart his plans to take over the galaxy, but only after building another shield that would hold his form since as a partially ascended being.

There was no human body that could hold him.

"You have been exceedingly difficult to kill," said Anubis in Willow's body as she fired at Buffy with energy blasts from both of her hands.

Buffy screamed in pain as she felt the full brunt of the energy blasts hit her chest and her abdomen, followed by Anubis telekinetically flinging her to the other side of the hallway. Anubis slammed Buffy against another wall, before slamming her into a group of four S.F's who turned around the corner and into this particular hallway with their weapons raised.

Groaning and holding on to her side, Buffy got up again before telling the S.F's to contact General O'Neill, to tell him that Tara better be awake and ready with that spell. One of the S.F's groaned and nodded his head as Buffy ran down the hallway calling for Anubis.

'This ends today,' thought Buffy to herself as she ran, "Tara and Willow will have their big day, and no see through snake is gonna stop that. I will not lose my best friend again… never again. I never want to see Tara upset again. Anubis, I'm coming for you.'

TBC

 


	87. Chapter 87

**Stargate Command, 1300 hours.**

Buffy ran faster when she heard the sounds of even more gunshots, followed by grunts of pain. The blonde Slayer ran into another hallway where she saw Anubis in Willow's body lifting up two S.F's using her telekinesis. However, there was something else at the back of her mind, there was something that was pushing her, pushing her to do something quick and stop Anubis by any means necessary. Buffy couldn't help but feel that the nudge in her mind was familiar, but she couldn't place it; all she knew right now was that the two S.F's were holding onto their necks while their eyes were bulging out as Anubis laughed.

'No,' thought Buffy as she ran even faster than before when she realized what Anubis was trying to do, 'she's gonna kill them.'

"Anubis!" shouted Buffy when she was only a few steps away; the Slayer used her stealth to get close enough for her punch to hit Willow/Anubis' face. Everything went into slow motion for the Slayer as she felt another nudge in her mind, and felt as if her body was on autopilot. Buffy saw the S.F's fall onto the floor gasping for breath while she delivered another punch to Willow's face, a hard punch that was enough to disable a human being.. but not kill. Buffy was consciously not using her full Slayer strength; the body that Anubis was inhabiting was her best friend after all. However, that was the key point…this was still Anubis she was facing and something was nudging her, a voice was telling her to keep on attacking Willow's body with her strength, to keep Anubis off-balanced. As Buffy punched and kicked Anubis in the hallway, she shouted at the S.F's to get out while she continued her barrage of punches on Willow's body.

Buffy could hear a voice telling her to continue, that Anubis needed to be stopped. The Slayer then performed an uppercut that pushed Anubis back, and then Buffy took a few steps forward and executed a roundhouse kick that slammed Willow into the wall of the hallway. The blonde saw that Willow was panting as she held on to her sides, the cuts and bruises on her face already healing as she smiled evilly at the Slayer.

" _Duck!"_ said a whispered voice in her mind.

The Slayer ducked just as the fire extinguisher from behind her flew over her head and slammed into Willow's body. Buffy quickly got up and rushed the two steps towards Anubis before grabbing the extinguisher after it fell onto the floor, and then slammed it into the redhead's abdomen.

_'Don't stop,_ ' said the whisper in her mind as Buffy stepped back to see Anubis doubled over screaming in pain, _'Buffy, don't stop.'  
_

"Willow?" asked Buffy as the voice in her mind came into focus swhile she spoke out loud. Dropping the extinguisher onto the floor she cautiously approached the redhead who was on all fours and panting, "are you there?"

_'Stop me, Buffy,'_ said the voice in Buffy's head, _'I.. I can't hold him back... I've tried to pull back his hits, but… stop me. Use your full strength and… no… watch out!'  
_

"The host never survives!" shouted Anubis as she looked up at Buffy, and then the Slayer felt herself being slammed against the wall of the hallway. The Klaxons still blaring in her ears; an annoying sound that was drowning the ringing in her skull. Buffy could feel her body getting crushed as she opened her mouth in pain; she was feeling something invisible pressing down on her throat, chest, arms, head, legs… every single part of her body.

"Will… Willow… st… stop," struggled Buffy to speak as the pressure around her throat, and now her heart, tightened.

"She is gone," said Willow in a deep voice with a sneer as she walked towards Buffy whose hands were being held against the wall, "I will soon have her secrets, her memories, and…."

"Buffy!" shouted Willow in a different voice while she held on to both sides of her head, as the Slayer dropped to the floor panting. Buffy quickly got up while she looked at the screaming redhead who was talking in two different tones of voices, one begging Buffy to kill her.. and the other tone of voice, Anubis' voice, shouting that he's already won.

"Sorry, Will," said Buffy as she started to use her full strength after she took two steps toward the distracted redhead and punched her abdomen, followed by a few kicks to the side of her head, and then the blonde grabbed Willow by the collar while she was groaning, turning the redhead around before slamming her to the opposite wall of the hallway they were in, "stay down!"

"Lieutenant," said four S.F's who ran towards Buffy with the weapons drawn on Willow, who was struggling to get up after being hit full force with the Slayer's attacks, "General O'Neill's on the way with…"

"Shut up!" shouted Willow in that deep voice once again as her eyes turned black, and the bruises and cuts on her face immediately healed. She got up and mentally grabbed the weapons from the S.F's and turned them on the security personnel and Buffy.

"Cover!" shouted Buffy as the S.F's and Buffy ran the way that the S.F's had come, while Anubis was laughing and firing at them. The blonde took cover as she jumped into a recess in the wall, a recess with a door inside that led to a cleaning closet. Buffy peeked out of the recess cautiously so that she could look to the other end of the hallway where the S.F's had jumped into another hallway to take cover. Buffy then turned and peeked her head out at the approaching Willow who dropped the empty weapons and was now firing energy blasts from her hands.

_'Buffy, if you can hear me… kill me, please,'_ said Willow's voice in her mind, 'I've kept him away from my telepathy but... but I don;t know how long I can hold him back for. You need to kill, I know you used your full power... well, you need to kill me with everything you have.'

"No!" shouted Buffy as she grabbed Willow's shoulder when the possessed redhead walked past the recess in which she was hiding. Then the blonde Slayer leaned forward and head butted the redhead before she twisted Willow's arm back behind her, and then brought her arm around Willow's throat, and pressed down before whispering into Willow's ear, "take me, Anubis. You can have me… I give myself willingly, and…"

_'No!'_ said Willow in Buffy's mind.

"No," said Anubis as she telekinetically pushed Buffy off her and then slammed her into the ceiling, and then back on the floor, "but for your tenacity, you will be my First Prime and…"

"Anubis!" shouted a familiar voice from the other end of the hallway.

Buffy was already in pain, she was trying to hide it.. but her body was wracked with pain. She looked behind Willow and sighed when she saw Tara with one arm around General O'Neill's shoulder and the other arm being held up while gathering blue mystical energy. Tara fired that energy at the redhead who placed a telekinetic shield around her. However, the mystical energy slammed through the redhead's defences and then hit Willow on her chest. Willow's eyes opened wide as the energy crackling all over her body before she fell on her knees. All the while, Buffy was lying on the floor of the hallway when she suddenly yelped, the Slayer placed a hand on her side and felt a bruise that made her close her eyes, and then flinch in pain. Buffy then looked up and behind when she found that the mental hold on her was gone, so the Slayer slowly and cautiously got up to her aching feet. She saw that Tara was guided towards her possessed fiancée while holding on to the General, with Teal'c and six other S'F's by her side, all carrying staff weapons. Over the ringing in her ears and the blaring of the klaxons, Buffy could hear Tara chanting a spell. It was then that Willow, still on her knees, arched her back and screamed as the energy continued to crackle along her body before it went onto her.

"Get the hell out of her," said Tara with gritted teeth as the hand that she held out towards Willow was slowly closed tight. Buffy heard Anubis' deep voice screaming in pain, followed soon by the redhead collapsing backward while Buffy rushed to catch her before she fell to the floor. As the blonde cradled Willow's unconscious body in her arms, she saw a blue ball coming out from Willow's chest… a ball that was crackling with the same blue energy, with a dark mist like substance swirling inside that was trying to get out.

"He's out of her," said Tara panting as she looked at Willow, and then at Buffy, followed by Teal'c, to whom the ball floated to before he reached out and grabbed it in his hand. Tara then turned and told the General to send the ball off-world; that they didn't have much time before the barrier dissolved.

The General nodded his head before telling Teal'c to get to the Gateroom with the ball that trapped Anubis; he'll call Walter and have him dial the Stargate to P9Q-281; the same planet that SG-1 would have died on due to the presence of two suns if it had not been for the Ancient information that was contained in Colonel O'Neill's head when he downloaded the Ancient Repository into his mind. Teal'c nodded his head and then ran with another S.F to the Gateroom while General O'Neill ordered each one of the two remaining S.F's to help Buffy and Willow, and then get them to the infirmary. In the meantime, he handed Tara to one of the other S.F's before he himself headed to a panel on the wall. He opened the small door and then reached for the emergency phone inside. He then ordered the lifting of 'Wildfire' and then ordered Walter in the Gateroom to dial the Stargate to P2Q-281, and that Teal'c was heading his way to the Gate.

The General then put the phone down and closed the panel door before getting Tara from the S.F and guiding her towards Buffy and Willow. Tara smiled when she saw the unconscious redhead, and then looked at the badly bruised blonde Slayer, and said, "thank you."

Buffy shrugged her shoulders and then yelped in pain before chuckling; saying that the laughter dulled the pain somewhat.

"Let's get them to the infirmary," said the General as Buffy and Willow were carried by the S.F's, and Tara was helped there with her arm around the General's shoulder.

**Infirmary, 2345 hours.**

Willow could hear the sounds of beeping close to her as she slowly regained consciousness. She moved her hand, which was lying on her side, and felt another hand that gently tightened around her own. The redhead's eyes then fluttered open and she looked to her left at a blurred vision of two blonde women, and a bald dark skinned man who was standing next to them. She blinked her eyes a few more times to clear the cobwebs before she finally saw Tara, Colonel Carter, and Teal'c clearly; they were standing by her bedside in the infirmary.

"Hey," said Tara as she held her Willow's hand tightly in hers, "you're up."

"Hey," said Willow softly as the blonde witch reached for some water in a cup. She then brought the cup, with a straw sticking out of it, to Willow's mouth. It was then that they heard another groan to their left. Willow saw them look up and then smile, it was something that made the redhead turn her head only to see Buffy groaning in pain as she opened her eyes and looked at Willow.

And then the Slayer smiled before she closed her eyes again.

"Told ya we'll get you back," said Buffy as she opened her eyes again while Willow smiled.

"Hey," said General O'Neill as he walked in with Daniel, and stood in the middle of both Willow and Buffy's beds, "look who's up."

"Hi, Sir," said Buffy and Willow together as they looked at the General.

"All of you listen up," said Dr. Fraiser who walked in with two clipboards and went on to check on both of her immediate patients, before she looked at the rest of SG-1, "these two need sleep; plenty of sleep and rest. One was possessed, and the other one was badly beaten… so, no talking, no celebrating, and all resting. Clear?"

"Uh huh," said Willow nodding her head before she looked at Tara, who looked back at the redhead who kept on glancing towards Colonel Carter. Tara then squeezed Willo's hand and told her that they'll do it tomorrow after she has had enough rest.

"Do what?" asked General O'Neill.

"Ummmm….. Colonel," said Willow as she looked at the blonde Air Force officer, before looking at the General, and then back at Colonel Carter once again, "we need to talk… and well, there's something else that Tara and I need to talk to all of you about."

"Which is?" asked the Colonel.

"Tomorrow, Carter," said the General as he put his hands his pockets and grinned at the redhead, and then at Tara before looking at Colonel Carter. He guessed that they were going to tell the Colonel that they were in love, but he wondered what else the two of them wanted to talk about, "let these guys rest. We'll talk about whatever it is tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, then," said Tara as she smiled.

TBC.

 


	88. Chapter 88

**Willow's Room, General O'Neill's Cabin, Silver Creek, 1700 hours; one and a half years later.**

Willow stood in her blue wedding dress and smiled at her reflection on the full length mirror in front of her. As she thought about her alternate, Major Rosenberg, Captain Willow Rosenberg looked at her reflection and imagined everything that happened that led her to this point in her life.

She remembered her getting kidnapped by Riley, she remembered the rescue, and then everything that happened since then; the offer to attend the Air Force Academy, the peek into her alternate self's mind, and then there was her meeting with Tara. She still remembered the day she met her soon to be wife… it was as if it only happened yesterday for the redhead. Willow looked at her reflection and closed her eyes, she shut out the sounds of her parents, her friends, he colleagues; she shut out everyone a she remembered the first day she saw Tara… the day she walked into the Stevenson Hall lobby and noticed the blonde girl in the Wicca group. Willow remembered how she looked that day, the day they went for what Tara considered their very first date; and it was there that Willow differed with her wife.

That was the day a nervous Willow who was still smarting from her breakup with Oz, and her attempted kidnapping, and excited about accepting the offer to the Air Force Academy; that was the day that the redhead just counted as an outing with a girl she had met.. a girl who would become her future. No, Willow's memory of the first date they shared was a few days ago; a simple date of a movie, and then dinner.

Following which the redhead took Tara to the roof of Stevenson hall so that they could look up at the stars. That was the day Tara showed Willow the 'big pineapple', and 'the towers of cookies', in the night sky. That was the day that, as they were lying down on blankets, Tara and Willow looked at each other; and shared their first kiss; a kiss that brought memories of Oz as Willow pulled back almost immediately and apologized.

It wasn't the perfect kiss that Willow was looking for; but it was still a kiss.

Back in the present, Willow looked at herself and thought back to her days with Tara when she would visit her at the Academy. T hose were the best days of her time there; it was true that she loved the Academy, she loved the Air Force, and she loved being a part of something bigger… but having Tara next to her elevated everything to a high point that she couldn't reach on her own. It was then that a knock on the door threw Willow back to reality as she turned around and asked whoever it was to come in.

"Hey," said Cassie, and Dr. Fraiser who was right behind her, "we've just been to Tara's room and…"

"OH God," said Willow with a squeak in her voice, "she's terrified, isn't she? I mean she…"

"Relax," said Dr. Fraiser, in her dress blues, as she walked towards Willow as she waved her hands about, while Colonel Carter walked into the room in her dress blues as well, "I was just going to say that Tara looks beautiful."

"So does Willow," said the excited teenager who was already in her second year at John Hopkins University for her medical degree. The younger redhead started to fix Willow's dress while Dr. Fraiser was telling her to stop fussing. Willow smiled at the mother and daughter before she looked at Colonel Carter who was grinning at her.

"You look beautiful, Willow," said the Colonel as Willow thanked her, and then walked down from where she was standing and hugged the Colonel.

"Thank you for your support, ma'am," said Willow as she looked behind the Colonel, at the door to her room which opened slightly as Buffy, also in her dress blues, peeked her head in and grinned at the redhead, who signalled for her to come in.

"You always had my support, Willow," said Colonel Carter as Willow recalled the night that she and Tara revealed to the blonde officer the truth about herself.

"Ma'am?" asked Willow as she looked at the Colonel who had her mouth hanging open a year and a half ago. They were at a barbeque at General O'Neil's house when Willow and Tara pulled the blonde officer to the balcony, a bit of a distance away from the General who was grilling some steaks, and various other meat, "you alright?"

"So," said the Colonel as she pointed at Willow and Tara, "the both of you…. I mean…"

"We've been in a relationship for a while now and… and we wanted you to know, Sam," said Tara as the Colonel looked at her, and then at Willow. The both of them tried to look for some emotion on her face that would give a hint for what the blonde officer was thinking; and not even Tara could say what the Colonel was feeling since her aura was flashing wildly as she went through a variety of emotions; the only good thing was that Tara never felt that Colonel Carter was disgusted at the both of them.

"I… I love Tara and… and we've been hiding it and…" said Willow as the Colonel looked at her, "I mean… we were a couple in Sunnydale and… and since then… I mean she'd visit me at the Academy and I kept it a secret and.. and we'd do things in private and not at the SGC and… and now. I mean now you guys are like my family… our family and we wanted you to know."

"Does the General Know?" asked Colonel Carter who was still in surprise, that was the main thing that Tara could see from her aura.

"George and Jack found out on their own," said Tara, "so did Teal'c and Daniel."

"But don't be mad at them, ma'am," said Willow as she took a step forward, "we told them not to tell you cause, I mean… we didn't know if you were gonna be ok with us. I mean, technically back then we just started at the SGC and.. and now we've been together for a long time and… and.. please say something?"

"We were worried that you wouldn't approve," said Tara as she took a step forward and held Willow's hand tight, "we… we… love each other, Sam."

"You could have told me," said the Colonel as she took a step forward and put a hand on Willow and Tara's shoulders, and gave a small smile, "you said it yourselves, we're a family."

"I know," said Willow, "but I was scared you'd think we were freaks… or something."

"I don't," said Colonel Carter as Willow and Tara held their hands together with grins plastered on their faces, "I'm happy for the both of you."

"There's something else we need to tell you," said Tara as she let go of Willow's hand, and then grabbed a hold of Colonel Carter's hands before pulling her into the house. Willow chuckled before she leaned to her right and shouted at the General.

"You heard everything, didn't you, sir?" asked Willow.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Red," said the General with a grin as he poured some beer over the steak.

"Sir," said Willow as she ran over to the man and grabbed his hand, "there's something Tara and I would like to say."

"About?" asked the General confused.

"All of us, together," said the redhead as she looked at the General and then back over her shoulder at Tara who was already in the house, waving them in. Willow looked at the General again and pulled him into the house from the balcony while the man told everyone that if the meat was burnt, it would be Willow's fault.

Willow then suddenly hugged a surprised General, before whispering in his ear, "thank you for everything, sir."

Willow then pulled back, and smiled at a surprised General before she let him go and walked over to where Tara was standing, and stood next to her; holding their hands together. Willow and Tara looked at Daniel, Teal'c, Buffy, Colonel Carter, General O'Neill, Cassie, and Dr. Fraiser who were all seated in front of them wondering what was going on. Willow and Tara then looked at each other, the blonde nodding her head at the redhead.

"I know that all of you know that… that I love Tara," said Willow as she looked at everyone as Daniel drunkenly raised his glass and said, "hear, hear."

Tara and Willow chuckled when Buffy leaned forward and grabbed the drink from Daniel's hand before telling him that he was already getting tipsy. She then handed it to General O'Neill who drank it before putting the empty glass on the coffee table.

"And we know that Sam was the last to find out about us," said Tara as Colonel Carter raised her hands and chuckled while everyone else was clapping. When the clapping stopped, Tara and Willow stepped closer together and placed their hands on each other's backs, "we've been together for a long time."

"And I gave her a lot of near heart attacks," said Willow, "I died, I was cloned and lost my memory, then I was frozen… and… and all that time Tara stayed with me."

"She has," said Teal'c as he nodded his head.

"Tara is my everything," said Willow as she looked at the blonde witch while Buffy leaned forward and grinned, knowing what the both of them were going to do. While Buffy knew what was about to happen, the others looked at each other confused, and then back at the couple standing in front of them, "she is my present, and my future."

"Willow?" asked Daniel who suddenly appeared sober while he leaned forward as Tara waved her hand over the redhead's left hand, and the over her own left hand. Where there was once nothing on their fingers, now there were bands of silver with two small diamonds around their fingers as Cassie stood up and gasped before she jumped excitedly and then went to hug Willow and Tara.

"Tara proposed," said Willow as she teared up while hugging Cassie. It was then that Dr. Fraiser got up and rushed to hug Tara before telling the both of them that they had a lot of things to do.

"Oh, yeah," said Buffy as she got up and grinned at the two of t hem while Colonel Carter walked to Willow and gave her a tight hug. IN the meantime, General O'Neill nudged Buffy before whispering.

"You knew about this?" he asked.

"Tara proposed when we went to Sunnydale the last time," said Buffy, "the day I handed the Scythe to Faith?"

"Oh," said the General as the women looked at the rings while Daniel was hugging Willow, and Tara was hugging Teal'c.

"Congratulations," said another voice as everyone turned around to find a blonde woman in a white dress standing in front of the kitchen counter.

"Momma," said Tara as she rushed towards her mother, and then hugged her; the older woman telling Tara that she was proud of her.

Back in the present day, Willow remembered all of the various questions that Colonel Carter, Daniel, and General O'Neill had for Sarah Maclay; however, she wasn't able to answer any questions. Although she did stay for dinner once General O'Neill asked her to stay; and the woman then began flirting with Daniel much to Tara's laughter… especially when she told Daniel that she was there when Oma sent him back down to Vis Uban.

"Oh," said Daniel as he understood what she meant by that; as did Colonel Carter and the others, except for Cassie who was confused as to why everyone was laughing while Daniel's face turned red.

Back in Willow's room, the Colonel told Willow that everything was ready; that everyone was seated and waiting for the both of them.

"Your parents are right outside," said the Colonel, "and Sarah's right outside Tara's room while your mother.. I mean Melina, is talking to her."

Willow nodded her head as she recalled the day that they had to fight Colonel Carter's replicator duplicate. And it wasn't just her, Replicarter wanted the frequency to the Anti-Replicator weapon, and she tricked the SGC into allowing her to examine it in a ruse… she said that she wanted to destroy Fifth since she was his slave. Little did they know that the blood from Willow and Buffy that fell on Fifth's ship would be used for the infiltration of their copies; copies that not only grew out from Replicarter's body… but copies that led to the destruction of the Alpha Site. With copies that were stronger than the originals, Colonel Carter ordered a retreat of the base's skeleton crew through the Stargate. Buffy and Willow did everything possible to hold off their duplicates, while Tara used her magic to hold Replicarter in place once they had used the previous frequency from the Anti-Replicator weapon to destroy Fifth's ship… however, soon after that… the Ancient weapon was not effective since Replicarter made herself, replicator-Buffy, and replicator-Willow immune. The Colonel had set-up the new naquadria reactors in the Alpha Site to overload, effectively destroying the base and anything still in it to nothingness. She took the Ancient weapon and ran, with Buffy, Willow, Teal'c, and Tara close behind.. the blonde witch pushing them back using her magic. And if replicator Buffy did manage to get close, the real Buffy would grab her before throwing her with all her strength into replicator-Willow.

It wasn't too long before everyone had left the Alpha site, leaving just Colonel Carter, Willow, Buffy, Teal'c, and Tara in the Gateroom as the door to the room was locked shut. However, they could hear the three replicators punching through the several inches of steel… and it was replicator Buffy that ripped her fist through the steel door first.

"I'm a much better Slayer than you, Buffy," shouted Replicator Buffy, "I can never die… I can't…"

"Oh, shut up," shouted Captain Buffy Summers before she, Tara, and Teal'c ran through the Stargate to Earth with the Ancient weapon. In the meantime, the Colonel grabbed the hard disks while wiping out the rest of the data.. and Willow set the self-destruct to a two-minute countdown.

"Willow!" shouted replicator Willow as she looked through the hole that replicator Buffy had punched through, "you are not better than me… sweetheart. You want to…"

"Oh, shut up," said Willow and the Colonel together as they stood near the gate, with Willow using her telekinesis to keep the door shut just as Replicarter, Repli-Buffy, and Repli-Willow punched more holes through the steel door. Willow then looked at the timer on the computer that was facing them that read thirty seconds left; so the redhead pushed the Colonel through the gate just as the three replicators used their combined strength, and pushed the steel door down. Willow fired energy blasts, as well as used her telekinesis to knock back the three of them while still looking at the clock.

It was five seconds left.

"Ta-ta," said Willow as she ran and jumped through the gate just as there was a bright white light. Willow remembered hitting the ramp hard as Colonel Carter shouted at Walter to raise the shield, and then close the Iris… which was heated to unbelievable temperatures thanks to the energy that travelled through the wormhole from the naquadria explosion.

An explosion that they knew had destroyed everything, something which they confirmed by using the Prometheus to run scans over the former Alpha Site. A few months after that, there was the battle over Dakara where Ba'al publically lost to the Jaffa fleet which had two Asgard vessels and the Prometheus helping them. With the defeat of Ba'al, the Jaffa now knew that the Goa'uld were not gods… and more started to fall; Amaterasu, Bastet, and more of the system lords would fall over the next few months while others went into hiding having lost their armies… and thus, their power.

With all of that over, there was one more thing that needed to be done.

The Wedding of Willow and Tara.

And here it was, back in the present that Willow found herself alone again; General Carter, who both the redhead and Tara had used their combined powers to heal after Selmak died, said his hello's to Willow before he told the blonde officer that Pete kept on calling his phone… even after she broke up with him. The break up came as a welcome surprise to Willow, Tara, and Buffy… with the blonde witch offering to turn him into a toad if the Colonel wanted it. With Buffy, Dr. Fraiser, Cassie, and the others all gone out to the outside of the cabin; Ira Rosenberg peeked his head inside the room and smiled at Willow.

"You look beautiful, Willow," said Ira as he smiled, "we're right out here when you're ready."

Willow saw a light at the corner of her eyes, and smiled while telling Ira to give her a few minutes to take a few deep breathes. HE then looked over his shoulder as Sheila peeked in and said that Tara looked absolutely beautiful.

"I'll be right out," said Willow with a smile as the two Rosenberg's closed the door behind them. Willow then looked to her left at the ball of light which started to grown, and eventually formed into a smiling Melina who walked towards her daughter before holding her tight in a hug.

"I am so happy for you, Athena," said the ascended woman as she pulled back slightly and looked down at her daughter, "I have seen Tara as well, and spoken to her. I am proud of the both of you."

"Thanks," said Willow as Melina caressed her cheek, "I just wish father was here."

"I believe he knows," said Melina with a smile as she leaned forward and kissed her cheeks, "there are others who wish to see you be united with Tara, they will be outside… as will I. You have made me so proud, Athena."

"I love you, mother," said Willow as she hugged Melina, "I love you so much."

"As do I," said Melina as she whispered into Willow's ear, "now, you must go.. Tara awaits."

Melina siled and vanished; and then Willow took a deep breath before she headed towards the door. She opened it to find her father and mother standing still; Sheila then held onto Willow's right hand, while Ira held onto the redhead's left hand as they walked through the hallway, and then left to the front door where Willow looked at the guests who were standing; guests in both civilian clothes and dress blues. She walked out of the door as she glanced at Faith and Amy together, then Anya and Xander holding hands; she then saw Giles who gave her a wide smile, Cordelia, Spike, and Angel. Willow then saw a pregnant Joyce dabbing her eyes with Jayden by her side, and Jay in Dawn's arms while standing next to Buffy. The redhead saw Walter, Teal'c, Daniel, General O'Neil, Siler, General Carter, Colonel Carter... all standing as they looked at her... and then at the sight that Willow was now looking at. A blonde vision in cream white dress with Sarah by her side, and the redhead's heart started beating. As she walked towards Tara, there was a warmth that went through Willow's body that made her stop, and then slowly look to her left.

There was Melina smiling at her from the cabin's porch, a sight that only she and Tara could see. Willow then continued to walk while occasionally glancing back at the porch, and now there were three more old friends standing there; bowing their heads in respect to the redhead and her wife.

Janus, Melia, and Ganos Lal… old friends from Atlantis were there to be with her on this important day. The four of them bowed their heads at Tara, who could see them, as well before nodding their heads at Sarah who smiled at them before she looked at her daughter, and held her hand.

And then the ceremony started.

It would be six months later that Atlantis called for aid, they were being attacked by Wraith that were being kept at bay thanks to the Ancient energy weapons that were fitted onto the city; weapons sent through the Stargate thanks to a ZPM that was recovered from Egypt, with the Daedalus sent to the Pegasus galaxy soon after. It was another six months later that one Vala Mal Doran called on the to the SGC. It was following the handover to of the SGC to the new base commander, General Landry; with preceded the transfer of Colonel Carter to Stargate Research and Development at Area 51, the resignation of Teal'c so that he could help build a new government for the new Free Jaffa Nation, and the new leader of SG-1 had taken control and managed to keep Daniel, who was scheduled to go to Atlantis, around for one last adventure.

Or that's what Daniel thought at least.

Thanks to Vala's trickery, SG-1, which now included Tara, and the temporary return of Teal'c due to unforeseen complications, again with Vala, headed to Glastonbury Tor where they had found a huge cavern. It was the place where Willow fought with a knight, and then activated the long lost treasure of Avalon. And among that treasure was an item that SG-1, and some archaeologists from the SGC, would find a few hours later.

A very familiar item… an item that the alternate Willow had warned Captain Rosenberg about.

The purple, oval shaped object with a crystal on top.

Willow and the other looked at each other; Willow had already warned then about the Ori… and there was no way that anyone them were going to risk using that device. And to prevent anyone else from using it, Willow, Daniel, and Colonel Mitchell fired their Zats multiple times at it until it was de-atomised.

There was no way that they were going to allow the same things that happened in Major Rosenberg's reality with the arrival of the Ori happen in their own. No way.

And now their future was open.

And Willow was going to help her team prevent any other dangers to their home.

THE END.

 


End file.
